Jena Six (1 of 6)

In September 2006, a group of African American high school students in Jena, Louisiana, asked the school for permission to sit beneath a "whites only" shade tree. There was an unwritten rule that blacks couldn't sit beneath the tree. The school said they didn't care where students sat. The next day, students arrived at school to see three nooses (in school colors) hanging from the tree. (Please note, the tree above is not the tree, but a tree at Jena High School.)

The boys who hung the nooses were suspended from school for a few days. The school administration chalked it up as a harmless prank, but Jena's black population didn't take it so lightly. Fights and unrest started breaking out at school. The District Attorney, Reed Walters, was called in to directly address black students at the school and told them all he could "end their life with a stroke of the pen."

Black students were assaulted at white parties. A white man drew a loaded rifle on three black teens at a local convenience store. (They wrestled it from him and ran away.) Someone tried to burn down the school, and on December 4th, a fight broke out that led to six black students being charged with attempted murder. To his word, the D.A. pushed for maximum charges, which carry sentences of eighty years. Four of the six are being tried as adults (ages 17 & 18) and two are juveniles.

Yesterday, I was in Jena for the first day of the trial for Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six. The D.A., perhaps in response to public pressure, tried to get Bell to cop a plea. Bell refused, and today, jury selection began. After today, we'll know whether or not the case will be tried in front of an all-white jury. Jena's 85-percent white, and it remains to be seen whether or not the six can get a fair trial.

Both off-the-record and on, Jena residents told me racism is alive and well in Louisiana, and this is a case where it rose above the levee, so to speak.

In the next few days, I'll be posting a few photos from Jena that are related to the case, as well as linking to a multimedia piece I'm working on. CNN began reporting on the story today, following the lead of the BBC, who crafted an excellent hour-long documentary that can be found on P2P networks.

Links, a video and an explanation of the case can be found here:
www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml

More:
Google News
Jena Six on Technorati
The Town Talk, local paper covering the trial
Video from TV8, Monroe, LA and ace reporter Jennifer Townley

MAIL: michael@whileseated.org

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Comments

JeroenJeroen says:

Sounds like a story worthwhile telling. Good luck on the job.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

sbug says:

Sometimes I think we've come quite a way in the past ~43 years. Other times, not so much. I look forward to your coverage.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

An all-white jury's been selected:
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/26/america/NA -GEN-US-Raci...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

joostburger (.....solitary......) says:

The world never changes..
Thanks for covering this from your personal perspective.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

URBAN PHOTOS says:

This will be very interesting, and I look forward to your coverage...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

joostburger, I could try to be objective on this one, but the fact that I went there to see what was going on already belies my bias.

my friend abbey has objectivity, though:
www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID =/20070627/N...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

photoniceye says:

That just makes me sad......
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Nils Jorgensen says:

www.boingboing.net/2007/06/27/creepy_interest ing_a.html
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

k55_91411 says:

I am about ready to cry! This is summarily astonishing that the Federal Justice Dept. has not stepped in and that this evil still exists.

Perhaps Vermont is on to something regarding succession from the union
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

Nils Jorgensen, thanks for the link.

To clarify on the boingboing post, I was not allowed inside the courtyard to photograph the real tree. This is a tree at the school, but not the actual tree.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

angelamakes says:

I found this via boingboing and had to read it 3 times before the date sunk in. I'm sickened and saddened to know that things like this still happen.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

patrickdodds1 says:

Thanks for posting this. Sad but not totally surprising that such attitudes still pertain. Good luck with the case - I hope the DA loses his job.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

tommyschoolbruh says:

ok, i'm from louisiana and i'll try and choose my words very carefully here.

first, yes it sucks incredibly bad that whites in louisiana still have the nerve to put a frickin noose on a tree. i'd beat them up if i could as well. yes it's ridiculous what the DA said to the students. everything you're complaining about has merit.

but there's some points that need to be made. for instance, jena is a town of less than 3,000 people. that's right, less than 3,000. it is hardly a representation of the majority of the louisiana population. add that to the fact that it's also in northeast louisiana which has basically zero ties (culturally) to south louisiana where the majority of our population resides.

someone mentioned the federal govt stepping in for this. please. it's no worse than chicago or L.A. or anywhere in america. it's terrible that it's going to be an all white jury, but were they supposed to bus in black people to be jurors?

like i said, i wanted to choose my words carefully and a lot of you will probably infer that i'm some sort of racist or whatever you want to think. but when y'all decided not to help us out during katrina, when all of you didn't even seem to notice hurricane rita, when all of you forget about new orleans you have absolutely NO RIGHT to try and meddle in this now.

we needed you once and you turned your back, so for this one person, don't you dare criticize us or stick your noses in our business if you're not gonna help out when we need it the most.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

joostburger (.....solitary......) says:

@whileseated: I like the personal coverage!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

chrissketch says:

From Louisiana as well. Lafayette. Have to agree with tommyschool. North Louisiana is basically Arkansas.

But fact is, racial tension is never going to completely go away and its still an issue down here as well. You can pass laws, TRY to educate people, etc... But racism is passed down through the parents. And economic disparities practically guarantee that those who choose not to intermingle, never have to. Behind closed doors, racism flourishes.

Schools are the worst because this is where all the talk comes to a head and kids are going to act before they think because thats what a clique system teaches them. Hell it doesn't have to be race related. I went to a private with hardly any minority students but we still had stupid stuff like the "Jock tree." My friends and I knew we had to find a spot eat lunch everyday, (a bench in front of the cafeteria, nearly all for at least 2 of the four years), because that designated who you were and what group you belonged to. Its completely unspoken but understood. The fact that this incident was race related is disturbing but not unimaginable.

I don't know how to fix the problem. Time and laws only seems to mask the underlying problems. I dunno if it can be fixed with laws or federal intervention. Personally I think government involvement might work for short term problems but they usually screw up the long term situation and make things worse. I know if I have kids, I'm going to do my best to make sure they're educated about things like this.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

xeni says:

@whileseated -- sorry for the BoingBoing error, I've corrected that reference in the post.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Propaganda Sifter says:

Somebody do the right thing and go cut down that frickin tree.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

xeni, thanks for that, and for the link.

Propaganda Sifter, seems like it would have been a better move than trying to burn down the school.

patrickdodds1, yesterday the DA lowered the charges against Mychal Bell from Attempted Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder to 2nd Degree Aggravated Assault and Conspiracy to Commit same. I guess his logic is to start high and lower the charges as you go along, as the defendants refuse to plead guilty, and as you realize there may not be enough evidence to convict.

I'm appreciating the Louisana-based comments and the discussion here. My audio-video-picture presentation is forthcoming.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

cdurusau says:

All you have to do is go to www.thejenatimes.net and choose Jena High archives to see pictures of the fire. The tree in question appears in several of those pictures.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

Indeed, here's a link:
www.thejenatimes.net/highschool_galleries/200 6/Jena_Footb...

The real tree is inside the courtyard, as seen here:
www.thejenatimes.net/highschool_galleries/200 6/Jena_Footb...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Christopher Vigliotti says:

Does anyone have any more info on District Attorney Reed Walters? Is it legal to threaten to end a minor's life (with a "stroke of a pen" or by any other means)?? What about the names of and more information on the school administrators that decided that the nooses were a "harmless prank"???
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

metavariable says:

tommyschoolbruh wrote: "when y'all decided not to help us out during katrina, when all of you didn't even seem to notice hurricane rita, when all of you forget about new orleans you have absolutely NO RIGHT to try and meddle in this now."

I'm in Texas, where Houston alone took in over 150,000 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. I donate to the local food bank every month, and I contributed every month the Katrina victims were being accommodated in my city. So, I believe I have every right to tell you to shove it.

The people of Jena should be utterly ashamed.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

Mychal Bell was found guilty of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit the same a few hours ago:
www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID =/20070628/N...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

1fromjena says:

First off, the all white jury was due, primarily, to the fact that the African-Americans who were selected for jury duty did not even BOTHER to show up. So how in the world would you expect the jury not to be all white?

Second, Reed Walters is a very fair man. I have known him and his family for many years, so yes I am somewhat biased. However, in all the time that he has been D.A. he has never trumped up charges against anyone. Why would he do it now?

Third, Nooses in a tree? Was there anyone hanging in those nooses? Was there ever a threat of hanging anyone in those nooses? Yes, I will give you that the nooses were and extremely racial remark. It was harmless though, noone was INJURED by them.

Finally, next time there is an incident in your town, where 6 people of one race, jump on one person of another race, tell me that there isn't something racial going on there. When that one person is knocked unconcious and falls to the ground, fights over right? Then why did these young men decided to KICK this young man? I realize that his injuries were not severe, but when you are kicking someone you know is unconcious, your only goal is to seriously injur them. So, were the charges that much? Personally I don't think so.

From someone who lives here and has had to put up with all the crap we call news, that is about 75% speculation and trying to make connections where none exist.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

davidcoleman_2000 says:

"Second, Reed Walters is a very fair man. I have known him and his family for many years, so yes I am somewhat biased. However, in all the time that he has been D.A. he has never trumped up charges against anyone. Why would he do it now?"

It seems quite obvious that he is doing so now because the colored people are getting uppity on his watch. To everyone else in the country, the attempted murder charges reek of a vendetta, and an statement to the black community that they are not to lay a hand on a white man, no matter how they feel. The correct charges were assault.

"Third, Nooses in a tree? Was there anyone hanging in those nooses? Was there ever a threat of hanging anyone in those nooses? "

Are you truly so backwards as to not see the implicit threat of lynching? Again, if you are truly from Jena, you are simply showing the rest of us that your community is an abberation, stuck in the early 20th century, and pining for a day when them durn colored boys weren't clamoring for their "special rights."
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

greken1 says:

1fromjena,

"Third, Nooses in a tree? Was there anyone hanging in those nooses? Was there ever a threat of hanging anyone in those nooses? Yes, I will give you that the nooses were and extremely racial remark. It was harmless though, noone was INJURED by them."

Wouldn't you suppose the nooses in the tree was, I don't know, threatening to hang someone? If someone hung a noose in your front yard you wouldn't be afraid for yourself and your family? That goes beyond a harmless prank for any rational person. Use your head, I promise it won't hurt.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Thushan Sanjeewa says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Photo Symposium (Masters in Photography only), and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

lee451h says:

Not that there is any bias in the reporting here but what gives 6 youths the right to assault another youth? Or attempt to burn down a school? What does a man pulling a gun on 3 blacks have to do with 6 cowards jumping a white youth from behind and cracking his skull? I appreciate all the posters wallowing in guilt over what has happened in the past, but where is the indignation over what happened? I have never been to Jena but have a friend in Monroe and have been there several times. If "north Louisiana is basically Arkansas" and Monroe/West Monroe is "north" Louisiana, does this mean that Arkansas is 76% black?
I hope whileseated had the courage to show the same support for the students at Duke University who were nearly crucified because a psychotic black prostitute cried rape and a conniving prosecutor was pandering to his black constituency. How about support for the Mexican who was attacked during a Juneteenth celebration in Texas for bumping a little girl with his car (where were her parents, anyway?) and his friend who was killed?
As for the rest of you: Grow a pair and put the blame here where it lies. There is never any excuse for a group of ppl to attack a lone person like this.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

wiz2007 says:

I am from Louisiana, Alexandria. I rolled with laughter when I read the Chrissketch and Tommyschoolbruh comments about the moral and cultural advantages of South Louisiana. Lafayette and south Louisiana (New Orleans) have exactly the same track record in racial matters as the rest of the state. There is no "cultural divide" that absolves someone south of Alex from racism, sexism, homophobia or anything else. To those of us who live here, these comments are ludicrous.

The inconvient truth in the matter of the Jena six, is that the black youths conspired to attack the white student subsquently beating him into unconsciousness. Call it what you will, but this was a hate crime and should be prosecuted as such. In the matter of the all white jury, as has been stated, persons called to jury duty are not racially identified. Regretably, no poential black jurors bothered to show up.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

FreeMuggles says:

I think everyone has a point, sitting in their seats, comfortably at the computer, and not in a jury box or as a parent of one of these KIDS on trial. From reading the comments, I can tell that obviously these commentors are not African-American, have not grown up experiencing "disguised" racism, and also are letting their personal affiliations - 1fromjena - bias what should be a lawful matter. It doesn't matter whether the noose was used or not, THAT was a racist attack due to the implied nature of the nooses. If they have not been there while White students have been assemblying there, how coincidental for them to apprear after Black students used the area. It is the same as someone POINTING a gun at you, but hey, they didn't actually SHOOT it! No one has been charged with a hate crime for the nooses - WHICH CLEARLY HAVE BEEN USED WITH MALICIOUS INTENT - but a mere slap on the wrist, "naughty, naughty boys."

Most people feel that the charges against the six are justified because it became physical. At what point do you separate mental and physical abuse? The state can remove a child from a parent's home for mental abuse without ever once being physical, but is not willing to make the same comparison for these charges. What is even more SHOCKING about these charges are the parents of the white child want to see these KIDS (I keep stressing that these are still CHILDREN that we are talking about, not chagrined criminals who have rap sheets as long as a roll of Charmin) prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law but have done NOTHING about the administrators of the school addressing the racial climate of the school. Ultimately, the other student's parents didn't care, as long as it wasn't their child. Now that it is their child, they want to call the National Guard and have these "thugs" punished. Where were all these do-gooders of Jena while these Black students were being harassed (and documentation of the such substantiates these allegations)?
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

walking paradox1 says:

Contrary to "mindless apologists" some of us would like to see and hear the real facts in this case before declaring these six boys "innocent". There are several significant points that are misrepresented, omitted, altered, missing or just unknown to the public about this case. 1. There is no justification under the law for beating another person, this includes a noose left in a tree and, yes, even the use of the dreaded "N" word. If someone calls you the "N" word you DO NOT have the right to put your hands on anyone! If you do, you are the criminal! 2. The white student was beaten by no fewer than six black students. 3. The extent of the injuries from this severe beating are intentionally left out of your story. This was not a schoolyard scuffle, this was a mob beating and the injuries were severe. 4. Reports indicate that the white student who was picked out for the beating didn't hang nooses or provoke this attack. He didn't even see it coming. He is the victim of a hate crime. 5. These six students are not "kids", they are the size of grown men. 6. You either do not know all of the facts of this case and therefore should not jump to conclusions (i.e. Duke lacrosse) or you are purposely misrepresenting the facts to push an agenda. 7. Stop getting so called "facts" from black parents who would claim innocence if their children were captured on video and were caught with the victims blood on their hands and clothes. 8. Contrary to the beliefs of the "mindless apologists", black people can be wrong, they do commit crimes and should be punished when they do, even if it makes some people have misplaced feelings of guilt.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/2007/07/02/ine ffective-ass...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

molly.burgess says:

It is hard to believe that this day and age, after going through so much, that racism is still alive, and obviously practiced often there in Jena. Because I am not the racist type, I am completely astonished and speechless when I read the words of some of these posts from those who live in the LA area. One of you claim that the hanging of the noose was no big deal, that it didnt injure any one, are you serious? That is by far an abuse and an attack on black ppl all over the world, not just in LA. A gun was shoved in front of a few black guys, what happened to the white man that did that? Probably nothing, just like the noose hanging kids. What is wrong with people in this world. People of all races have prospered emensely in this world, and we still have white parents demenstrating racist techniques and passing that down to their children. And a "White" tree? Burn that damn tree. Now if there was a "black" tree, would that really fly? I say Jena needs to be burned down, along with that tree, and the white, bad a** kids who hung it, get charged with a malicious act. They knew what they were starting when they did it, and some how in the city of Jena, that is ok. Jena should have been hit by Katrina to be wiped away and start all over. Racism should definately not exist in this world, not now, not ever. I cant wait till them "white" kids go to college or better yet, go into the 'Real World" where they have no choice to deal with ppl of other races, and let them say the wrong words to the wrong person.. lol boy, I would love to be there for that.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

da_king57 says:

did yall know that this Micah Bell was living with a white family before all this happen because he family was not there for him. does this sound like racism. I think not that the black ppl in Jena were fearful of the jena six this is a gang of six on one what if your son was the one that got beaten by six what would you do ? color of skin doesnt matter it is wrong for 6 to jump 1
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

fontgoddess says:

Hi. I'm from Laramie, WY. I remember what it's like to have the whole world looking at your town and proclaiming that it's full of backwards, ignorant, hate-filled people. All this while your town is taking a good, hard look at itself and not liking everything it sees, either. But it's harder when the world (and the media) is there dissecting your every move and thought. Then, they don't take into account the inherent complexity of the situation, including the fact that your community has many good things about it too, otherwise no one would live there. *Everyone looking* forces your town to go into defensive mode, making sorting out your internal problems more difficult, painful, and traumatic.

My bet, you're mad as hell at everything that's happened. The idiocy of high-schoolers at the top of the list, with the legacy of racism stirred into the batch but maybe not the main ingredient. There's plenty of blame to go around, but many people have also reacted in completely understandable ways. Everyone's human. So, while lots of people outside of your town are looking in and picking victims and villains, you see bits of both in everyone. It's not simple, and it's very painful.

Another thing that makes it worse is that the larger world making judgments about your community is in no position to do so. Racism is a part of our country's culture, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Yes, a racial incident happened in your town, but they happen everywhere else in this country too. Reporters from New York and Los Angeles show up (seemingly with their minds already made up) and tell their viewers how backwards your town is, while apparently forgetting their own cities' racial tensions and crimes. While they're telling your town how to deal with what happened, they deal with the same problems with varying degrees of effectiveness.

While particular incidents may make titillating examples, racism, homophobia, and religious hatred are all over. We need to deal with these issues on all levels of scale, from local to national to international. We need to find solutions instead of just shaking our heads with disapproval at the most photogenic examples.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

smartchick28 says:

I just recently became aware of this case. There are so many comments to make about this case...

Looking at all the posts, I can't help but observe that there are just some things Whites will never understand and other things Blacks will never understand. One of those things is how something like a noose hanging from a tree can bring to the surface all sorts of feelings of rage that you may have thought were long ago buried or never even knew existed. A White person may empathize with the Black person seeing the noose and may even become as angry as the Black person, but will probably never experience the degree of pain and feeling of being violated the Black person experiences.

Comments like "Nooses in a tree? Was there anyone hanging in those nooses? Was there ever a threat of hanging anyone in those nooses?" only serve to substantiate what I am saying. And there is no way you can look at all the facts and say that race is not a factor. Unfortunately, it is at the heart of the situation.

The hanging of the nooses seems to have been the catalyst to set in motion a series of events that came to a head with the attack of the Barker student. From all accounts, this seems to have already been a racially charged town and something like this was bound to happen.

One more thing: as far as the all White jury, my understanding is that those who were called to jury duty did not show (we don't know how many Blacks were called). Before we write these people off as not caring about justice and the judicial system, let us remember that this does not appear to be a town brimming with affluent people. In fact it seems to be very blue collar. Unlike many people who can just call in to work and explain "Hi Ms. X, I have jury duty," in this town the boss may not care about jury and fire the individual for missing work. Of course, this is speculative, for I do not know if this is the case; just offering a different POV.

Bottom line: there was a school fight (unlike those many of us have seen in our own high schools growing up) which came on the heels of several racially charged incidents. In this fight, six children attacked another child and injured him. (BTW, the injured child was released from the hospital the same day and attended a social event that evening where he was seen being very sociable.) Should those involved in the beating of this child be punished? Of course. But not by the penal system. This was a school fight and should be handled by the school system.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

frank_noble says:

Remember this was a school fight. The kid was able to go to a school event the same night. Yes we need to be accountable for
our actions. Hang-man nooses was a joke a prank!!! I think a
freshman football player first big play in a game etc, you maybe
pour water on him is a prank a joke. This was truely a HATE
CRIME that went unchecked. Lets take some time and read the
blogs listen to the parents of these kids tell there story. Did you
know the first kid convicted parents was not allowed in the court
room? I wonder how people will fill if this was your child.
Two youth put hang nooses and was not out of school for a week.
The law could look at that as a hate crime. Blacks do not want
favors or a hand out this has been like a dream a fanasy i see
this is so real 2006-07 i am from the mid-west i went to school
in the late 70s and graduated in 81 things have not changed.
White America just don't understand!!!!!! look at the timeline events
check the facts now imagine these were you kids.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

jhsbandbabe'10 says:

i am a student at jena high school. i would just like to say that this whole thing has been blown WAY out of proportion. There is no such thing as the "all-white shade tree". Lots of people sit there...not just white kids. If you go to my school during a regular school day, there is no racism...everyone goes where they are most comfortable. You see white and black kids that are best friends, white and black kids that are dating..ect. I've gone to jena schools all my life. Jena is a small town and everyone is kind to everyone. People here help out complete strangers. Once something happens in your town and the news gets a hold of it, your town, big or small, is up for major criticism. I'll be glad when this whole situation has just blown over! There are people who would like to get on with their lives without having to hear about how "awful" or "racist" their home town is,when its not true. God bless,JHSbandbabe'10.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

truf_b_known says:

Ok, so the media is scrutinizing the "whites only" shade tree incident and claiming that a black student asked permission to sit under that tree, then the next day three nuses were hanging in that tree. I find this interesting because a few years ago, a white student was sitting at a picnic table very near the "whites only" tree when a black student approached him and told him that he was sitting at a "blacks only" picnic table and he had 3 seconds to get up and leave. The white student told the black student that he didn't want any trouble and got up to leave when the black student quickly counted 1,2,3 and then punched the white student in face, breaking his jaw and knocking him unconsious. This story has not been covered by any media source that I know of. Tell me, where is the justice in that?
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

hunter_la2000 says:

I just passed the Jena court house and their are about 200 or so people on the yard there, some are white but most are black. I saw license plates from Maryland and New York but mostly Texas. Isnt it odd that the majority of blacks in this town arent the ones complaining. Naturally the family and parents of the accused are complaining it is their children. The same children they should have been paying more attention to to begin begin with. I talked to a black man at the stare today. I asked him what he thought about the whole ordeal he said " I know them all well and if they would have had their asses whipped when they were young they wouldnt be where they are now. We are lucky they are there now because they would have killed someone soon."

Now as for the nooses I agree it was stupid and those boys recieved more punishment and grief than they would have ever expected. They have all since quit school because they were being bullied threatened and extorted by these same six boys.Lets talk about the Bell boy. My what a fine football player as was Jones. I reallity that was the only reason they were still in school. Bell had been written up 4 times this year and only 3 is needed for expulsion. One of those was for URINATING in the corner during class. He was constantly in trouble and does have a extensive rap sheet but being a juvenile it isnt published. As for Jones he was allowed to play football the week after being arrested for assault in another incident. I also know 3 white boys were not allowed to play the next game for toilet papering the school. Yet again the were not the star runningbacks. Maybe this is why they felt they could get away with anything. But as we all know this goes on every where that is why you see all the college atheletes and pros being arrested all the time. Michael Vick and his brother man what talent but look at them now. I could name them all day.

All of this has really made me think about racism, and by the way racism isnt just white to black. I all comes down to humanity. The law is the law and black or white, it must be inforced . I feel sorr y for all familys involved. But most of all I feel sorry for all of the people judging a whole town on what little truth they have gotten press the media. I hope something happens close to all of you so you can experience the same money and rating hungry media as they show only the side of the story that would get you interested. I guess it was a good thing Rodney King was videoed because who would believe one person over a crowd who said they didnt do it. And as the sign says JENA LOUISIANA A NICE PLACE TO CALL HOME>
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

"Jena High Noose Tree Cut Down"
www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID =/20070731/N...
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

Both CBS and NBC are scheduled to air stories on Jena during their national news broadcasts this evening @ 6:30.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

joshhikes says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called suburbanality, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

dwighttaylor132 says:

This story was given very little news coverage for one reason, the inevitability of a race war. Local officials in Jena and throughout this country realize the potential of this keg of nitro. They also realizes the blatant racist actions of LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters could very well be the catalyst that initiates the war, especially when he stated himself that he could end the lives of the young black men with the stroke of a pen.

These young black men aren't incarcerated for a simple school fight. They are incarcerated because a racist white District Attorney (Reed Walters) despises the idea of some young black men making an attempt to integrate racist Jena High School.

As I stated on my blog and throughout the internet, buses from every state should be rolling to Jena, Louisiana. If this animal think he can get away with this, he must be seriously insane. And everyone else who believes this case would've turned out differently if these young men were taught better are just as sick as Walters.

How these young men were raised have nothing to do with the injustice they are receiving. The only thing that would've changed the outcome is the color of their skin. Despite young Bell's lengthy police record, he still deserves justice. The capitalization on Bell's background is a maneuver D.A. Walters is using to contaminate the thinking process of the public with. He painted a vivid psychological picture that projects an image to the public that all six of the young men are criminals. He should be disbarred and prosecuted for conspiracy, civil rights violations and intimidation.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

dapdiesel says:

Okay...let me get this straight. And forgive me if I re-iterate a point made above me. I kind of threw-up in my mouth reading some of the comments so I just blitzed to the end where I could say what I needed to get out.

1st: 1fromjena said: "Third, Nooses in a tree? Was there anyone hanging in those nooses? Was there ever a threat of hanging anyone in those nooses? Yes, I will give you that the nooses were and extremely racial remark. It was harmless though, noone was INJURED by them."

did someone need to be hurt to know that this was a threat of violence?

I'm not from there, but...wasn't there a peaceful protest by black students the next day? Wasn't that same "fair" D.A. there to tell the students he could write their lives away with the stroke of a pen?

Sensationalism or not, you can't fake that many media reports saying the same thing. And I haven't heard your family friend deny such comments. What's my point? That's an act of intimidation for a peaceful demonstration. I'm a black student myself, college albeit but still. If I'm gonna be intimidated or injustly threatened? I'm damn sure gonna make it count for something.

I don't advocate violence on any level, but I'm getting my information from a different source, and it is outside of Jena so correct me if I'm wrong. But the white youth wasn't attacked unprovoked. It wasn't like "let's find the next white person we see and whoop his ass"...

From what I understand this white individual was the same young man who attacked a black boy at a party prior to, so from my understanding this was retaliation. He also used the N-Bomb, and words are used to insight emotion, this was definitely one of those times.

Racial tension got to an uncontrollable level in Jena, and those who can't see that are those who wont. Hell, from the outside looking in it's two steps from being Jim Crow!

1fomjena said: "What does a man pulling a gun on 3 blacks have to do with 6 cowards jumping a white youth from behind and cracking his skull?"

...this proves my point and another following. You said no black jurors bothered to show up? I actually agree, I think people do need to grow a set and show up, but I don't blame them for not being brave in a town where it's 85% white. You think three black jurors couldn't be targeted in such a high profile case? You can't possibly be that simple, or am I the only one who's been threated violently for standing up when standing up is necessary?

You're taking on the role of a victim and defending based on facts coming from a prospective of protecting "whiteness" and your friendly neighborhood D.A.

That's bull. And the fact that you're from Jena holds as much weight as high school toilet tissue. An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere. That includes the confederacy of the north; my home Indiana. From one racist state to another,...you need to wake up.

I agree with Smartchick28 who seems to have the most sense, I said this from the very begining of the case, back in November! :

"Bottom line: there was a school fight (unlike those many of us have seen in our own high schools growing up) which came on the heels of several racially charged incidents. In this fight, six children attacked another child and injured him. (BTW, the injured child was released from the hospital the same day and attended a social event that evening where he was seen being very sociable.) Should those involved in the beating of this child be punished? Of course. But not by the penal system. This was a school fight and should be handled by the school system."

It seems more than unfair don't you think? That's the injustice. Not the fight, not the racial "joke/prank" even though it is beyond offensive.

It's the lack of balance and the sentence imposed. Expulsion is one thing, 22 years in prision is vastly different.

Racism is real, and it's alive everywhere, Jena is just in the line of fire for it's unqualified representatives. Live with it.

WalkingParadox1 said: "Contrary to the beliefs of the "mindless apologists", black people can be wrong, they do commit crimes and should be punished when they do..."

I agree. White people commit crimes too, so do Asians, Hispanics, Jewish, Gays & Lesbians on down the line. But our country has a problem with racial hierarchy. The punishment never seems to fit the crime when you're on the darker end of the spectrum, that's what this microscope on your town and essentially this whole conversation is about.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

mr_scorpio_x says:

Racism, prejudice, rich, poor, black, and white, I am reading that's what this is all about.
We claim to have laws that would give JUSTICE for All in this country when that is far from the truth. I read in someone's comment that racism is part of this country's cultural core. We wouldn’t have this racism problem if the government and some of the elected officials weren’t racists themselves. From George Washington to President Bush to some of the past and current senators and congressmen/women that sit on their electoral rectums. These are the people that should have addressed this problem when Martin Luther King was addressing it and the people before him. You maybe surprise to learn that if we had address racism in our country from the start, we wouldn’t be fighting and so much deep in a war with Iraq. The majority of us feel we shouldn’t be there anyways. I wouldn’t be surprise if it’s the racist people in our government that want to keep this war fueled. Let’s just step aside for a moment to view the big picture and lay out the sociology events in this racist country we live in. Don’t you think the Taliban and terrorist know that we don’t have our act together? Don’t you know that they thrive on our actions as you see us running around bumping into each other scurrying later on with our Home land Security? We now are putting the magnifying glass on our own U.S. citizens. Yes, you may say WTF does this have to do with the JENA 6. My intelligent ppl, and the not so intelligent ppl who have made ignorant comments, it has 100% significant factors to do with the JENA 6. When we can’t clean up our own unfair, congested society of injustices from the past, we will REAP WHAT WE SOW!!! Had our government made down right simple concrete laws to address the racism in our country we wouldn’t be in this mess today. I am not talking about what they have on the books now which are so unfair today. We are so far away in resolving and cleaning up our dirty laundry that have been left by people in our government that there may not be no detergent on earth that will clean it. It will take an ACT from GOD to cleanse the dirt. (Look who the Taliban look up to when they go on their spree of terrorism, ALLAH)

We still have racism in our government that trickles down to our state and local government. And the people that got them in there are the same people that are your neighbors. Then you have some black ppl with their house slave mentalities that don’t help one bit. The only concrete solution to all of this, is that we do it ourselves with people that we elect that have on their AGENDA to STAMP OUT RACISM in this country, because all it does is leave a trail of decay for our cities to step in. (and trust me you will need our Supreme Being's intervention somewhat). The people that we elect will need to have the same mentality of truth and justices as the JFK'S MLK'S RFK'S and Malcolm X and anyone in between. You need to clean house on the farce of the Supreme Court, who are becoming useless figure heads who in my opinion serve no purpose to our racism issues. Do you know if something like this came forth to their table, they would reject it and say "Oh let the lower courts handle this. Why, because you have racist, unqualified, nimble brain farts up there until they get sick or die. Do you know if we carried around pornographic magazines in countries that didn’t allow such things we would be prosecute to the extremities of DEATH?

It’s a domino effect, from history, which is why it’s so much overdue. From what was done to the Native Americans, to the Black Americans with Slavery with no reparation, you now have some black people hating whites from things that were initiated by racist whites and now you have innocent whites paying for it today.
Well that’s how bad racism is and has become in this so call USA, that we need laws to deal with it in such a manner. Enough Said!!!!!!
Remember 9/11 and why we are where we are now.
Kim/Derek/Nick/Carl/JPH 9/8/07
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

SockMopTart says:

This story has got to be heard. My friend and I are trying to get as many bloggers as we can to write about this story and get involved before the first sentencing on September 20th. Join the fight with your words, signatures, and exposing this farce for what it is!

begin here
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

dramafreak_08 says:

yall dont even leave in jena? u have no clue what really is happening?
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

fill us in, dramafreak.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

jabula04 says:

Dramafreak, your comment is as laughable as your grammar. But PLEASE do enlighten the rest of us clueless ones as to what the truth of this matter really is.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

ELTESSY says:

The vast majority of Americans do not want segregation any more!

Estas cosas pasan menos y menos, este país rompió completamente con el racismo y la intolerancia. Para la juventud norteamericana no hay marcha atras posible!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

bumba_raas_clot [deleted] says:

It's a damn same that the Prehistoric Inbred Racist Rednecks are so Damn Ignorant. The Rednecks are just too damn Stupid and Uneducated to live and function in the 21st century. With out provoking some miserable racial tensions.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

dobiemarine says:

*points to bumba raas clot's comment* And as you can see, there are more than enough people out there helping to continue racism..
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

photog220 [deleted] says:

I find it interesting that no reporting had been done on the fact there was a Black panther rally at the school on the morning of the 20th in Jena, and that the natl. leader was spouting off racist remarks. Not to mention he was getting the crowd to raise their fists and chant 'Black power' repeatedly.

There was alo no mention of a heavy BP security presence there as well. Okay..just WHO is it now that's drawing the hate line?? Just asking because there's a lot of bias reporting, and CNN is leaving out a few facts. The only reason I haven't posted the pics is the res is too high and cannot file it, but enough people were there to know, I hope..

Yes, I was there, and viewed profiteering at the event's expense..There's nothing quite like being used!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

whileseated says:

This picture is in the October 1st issue of People Magazine, and is miscaptioned.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

wezzyworld312 says:

This is very sad yo... Why do everyboby have to put up with this. We are all God children. Don't matter if you black, white, asian, chinese, or whatever. People need to learn to get alone cause time is not getting longer.... it's getting shorter. If you don't believe me, read the book of revelation and find out whats going on. I love all my people and I hoping that yall will do the same... Jena 6, this shouldn't even happened. Even doe' it was a racism sitatution, God knows what's going on and he don't like it one bit. So, to all yall racism people God have his eyes on you. Don't think he ain't watching cause he is...

$Kee Wezzy$
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

xllx_hosting_xllx says:

tommyschoolbruh- We did as much as we could for Katrina. Its not our fault that Pres. Bush didnt do his job. What did you expect us to do? Put up a wall to stop the damn hurricane? There was nothing we could do. There were ignorant people that decided they wanted to stick it out through Katrina. We couldnt force them to leave, they stayed on there own free will but yet they complain that we didnt want to help them. Its kinda funny because our city (Rockford, Illinois) sent 1,200 people down to New Orleans to help out with the Red Cross. Dont give us that crap that we didnt help. We did all that we could do. Its not our fault people didnt take the warnings seriously. Blame the president and the idiots that had the choice to leave but refused to.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

xllx_hosting_xllx says:

About the Jena 6. You dont see white people going out and complaining when someone of there own race gets arrested. You dont see white people out crying "Racism" when a black man kills, beats or shoots a white man. Yes this is a racism issue in Jena but the O.J Simpson trial wasn't a race issue but yet because white people knew that O.J was guilty they were considered Racist. These boys had no rights to take matters into there own hands. Yes the white boys had no excuse for putting nooses in the tree's but did they harm anyone? Yeah they might of hurt someones feelings but they didnt physically hurt anyone. The charges are steep, it should be a charge of battery. Do you think that because its an all white jury that justice wont be served? Do you think all whites are racists? Look at the Oj simpson trial, 10 of the jurors were black and justice wasnt served. I pray to god that justice will be served with battery charges. And I pray to god that OJ simpson will get whats coming to him.... LIFE in prison without the possibilty of parole.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

ciera320 says:

ii belive that it is not fair to let the trial reamin in lousiana because of such thats was stated earlier because i believe that since most of the population in jena is made up of 85 percent whites then i believe so that mychal bell is being cheated out of a fair trial and all this can have been prevented if they would have just cut down the tree a long time ago and as i heard before when i was watching a show a teenager about the same age od Mr. bell had burnt down his parents home and got probation also a white man killed a grandmother and her 3 yr grandson with his car in lousiana and guess what he got probation to. so what does that tell you i believe that this is a racial case and should be settled in a fair trial believe it or not so i believe that mychal bell should have probation because i as i recall the YOUNG WHITE STUDENT THAT HAD GOT BEATIN UP HAD WENT TO THE HOSPITAL FOR 3 HOURS THEN WAS RELEASED AND THEN ATTENDED A SOCIAL EVENT A T THE SCHOOL so do yu think that really was attempted murder.?? and one last thing i would like to state bfore i go bell had a crimal record as a juvenile but they were mister meneors so how could this man be charged on such crucial terms..?? can yu tell mii dat ..?

-Ciera
Age 15
New Jersey
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

DA FUTURE says:

I THINK THAT THE NOOSES HANGIN FROM THE TREE WERE A THREAT JUST CAUSE SOME BLACK STUDENTS WERE SITTING UNDER A "WHITES ONLY" TREE. SO ANYBODY WHO SAID IT WASN`T A THREAT OR WHATEVER, I BET IF YOU WERE BLACK YOU WOULDN`T OF SAID THAT. NOW IN MY OPINION THAT WAS STUPID ON THE WHITE PEOPLES BEHALF CAUSE THE BLACK STUDENTS GOT PERMISSION TO SIT UNDER THAT TREE. I WAS GLAD THAT MYKAL BELL GOT OUT OF JAIL THOUGH BUT HE SHOULD NOT HAVE FACED WHAT HE FACED. NOW IF A WHITE BOY DID IT I DON`T THINK THEY WOULD OF FACED THAT CHARGE. THEY WOULD OF GOT SUSPENDED ONLY FOR A FEW DAYS. BUT NOT EVERYBODY IS LIKE THIS THOUGH. ITS JUST SAD THAT WE STILL HAVE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THAT ARE STILL RACIST. MY GRANDMA AND DADDY CAN`T STAND WHITE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME. THEY TELL HOW ME HOW NOT TO TRUST WHITE PEOPLE BUT I DON`T LISTEN TO THEM AT ALL. BUT ALL THIS WAS JUST CRAZY. ESPECIALLY MOST OF THESE REDNECKS ARE STILL BOUT AS RACIST AS EVER NOW. MY FRIEND WAS CALLED THE N WORD IN SKOOL AND THE WHITE BOY DIDN`T EVEN GET INTO TROUBLE BUT MY FRIEND GOT SUSPENDED FOR SAYING SOMETHING BACK AND THEN THEY GOT INTO A FIGHT. AT MY OLD SCHOOL OUR PRINCIPAL WA PRETTY MUCH RACIST BUT I DO HAVE ALOT OF WHITE FRIENDS THOUGH. BUT THATS MY OPINION. AND I DON`T CARE WHAT ANYBODY THINKS OF IT AT ALL!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

grothman says:

Some points here---

One, if six skin heads hunted down and beat a person of color senseless, would we even be having the Jena discussion? And don’t you think Al and Jesse, would be on the other side of the fence trying to convict them?

Two: I find it deplorable, (and more than a little hypocritical )that Jesse Jackson, who, last year aroused a lynch mob in Raleigh-Durham to have two white kids from Duke University sent up the creek for a hate crime they didn't commit, is now in Jena trying to free an African American kid, who actually did commit a hate crime.

Three: What exactly was wrong with white kids meeting under a tree, or for that matter, anywhere? Were they harassing others? Denying movement? Yelling racial epithets?

No. They were simply practicing their Constitutional right to free association/assembly and were ultimately denied their rights by those who were offended by so many of their color assembled in one place.

And if you want to talk about the changing landscape of American race relations, let’s talk about how ‘white’ has become the new ‘N’ word in this country. How, anything ‘white’ is deemed offensive, amoral and worthy of contempt. Whether it be the Winter Olympics, a GOP convention, or a tree in Jena.
marki81769@aol.com
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

matkaantytto [deleted] says:

www.flickr.com/photos/76538267@N00/2113869182 /

Please read the ENTIRETY of the argument and give me your honest opinion. I am trying to explain to this white male teacher that racism still exists in our schools but that doesn't mean (duh) all teachers are racist.

Please click !
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

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