This morning, a much-anticipated march and rally on the small town of Jena, Louisiana commenced in defense of the Jena 6 - six black teenagers who were charged with attempted murder in the alleged beating of a white teen who allegedly shouted racial epithets - and reportedly attended a party the same night of the altercation.
The unrest began when several young black students sat underneath a tree designated as
"white tree." The next day, three nooses were hung
from the tree; the superintendent of schools called the nooses "a prank," sparking racial tension and unrest in the majority-white community. Many white-on-black fights were reported, but according to Color of Change, it wasn't until the Jena 6 incident occurred that the District Attorney opted to prosecute.
Today, Rev. Al Sharpton lead the charge to the Jena courthouse, with a crowd that included family members of the charged teens and Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader. Just before heading the march, Sharpton told CBS, "This is the most blatant example of disparity in the justice system that we've seen. You can't have two standards of justice. We didn't bring race into it. Those that hung the nooses brought the race into it."
According to the Jena district attorney, Reed Walters, he didn't charge the white teens who hung the nooses because he could not find statutes in the state law under which to charge them. Of the black teens charged with battery, two were juveniles and four adults. Mychael Bell, a juvenile, was tried as an adult because of a prior criminal charge. His conviction was tossed out by a state appeals court earlier this week. The district attorney denied all accusations of racism.
"It is not and never has been about race," Walters told the AP. "It is
about finding justice for an innocent victim and holding people
accountable for their actions." It is not known if he addressed why the other fights were tolerated.
Concurrent rallies were held throughout the country by those who couldn't make it to Jena, in a national day of action. In Brooklyn, Borough President Marty Markowitz was scheduled to speak in solidarity, along with Hazel Dukes, president of the NY NAACP, and writer/activist Kevin Powell.
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