Jim Crow Justice in Louisiana
| By PreparationG - Jul 21st, 2007 at 6:06 pm EDT |
| Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog |
Here's a story from colorofchange.org about some seriously messed up shit going down in Louisiana, with links to what you can do about it.
WARNING: As you read this story, you might have to remind yourself that it's happening in 2007, and not 1957.
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Last fall in Jena, Louisiana, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."
A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in "their place"--but it's happening today. The families of these young men are fighting back, but the odds are stacked against them. Together, we can make sure their story is told, that this becomes an issue for the Governor of Louisiana, and that justice is provided for the Jena 6. It starts now.
Please add your voice: Link
Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high -- between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.
The first trial ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December, was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his public defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal's parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the judge could see them.
Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and could go to jail for 22 years. Theo Shaw's trial is next. He will finally make bail this week.
The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they arestanding strong. We know that if the families have to go it alone, their sons will be a long time coming home. They will lose precious years to Jena's outrageous attempt to maintain a racist status quo. But if we act now, we can make a difference.
Please add your voice to the voices of these families in Jena, and help bring Mychal, Theo, Robert, Carwin, and Bryant home. By clicking below, you can demand that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who have not yet gone to trial.
Link
Thank You and Peace,
-- James, Van, Gabriel, Clarissa, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 17th, 2007
WARNING: As you read this story, you might have to remind yourself that it's happening in 2007, and not 1957.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Last fall in Jena, Louisiana, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."
A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in "their place"--but it's happening today. The families of these young men are fighting back, but the odds are stacked against them. Together, we can make sure their story is told, that this becomes an issue for the Governor of Louisiana, and that justice is provided for the Jena 6. It starts now.
Please add your voice: Link
Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high -- between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.
The first trial ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December, was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his public defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal's parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the judge could see them.
Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and could go to jail for 22 years. Theo Shaw's trial is next. He will finally make bail this week.
The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they arestanding strong. We know that if the families have to go it alone, their sons will be a long time coming home. They will lose precious years to Jena's outrageous attempt to maintain a racist status quo. But if we act now, we can make a difference.
Please add your voice to the voices of these families in Jena, and help bring Mychal, Theo, Robert, Carwin, and Bryant home. By clicking below, you can demand that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who have not yet gone to trial.
Link
Thank You and Peace,
-- James, Van, Gabriel, Clarissa, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 17th, 2007
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Comments are closed for this post.
For what it's worth, you omitted some relevant facts: The kids who put up the nooses were suspended. I'd be perfectly happy having them expelled, but the fact that they were suspended is relevant information that should have been in your reporting.
The charges against the Jena students for what appears to have been a simple schoolyard fight are a miscarriage of justice - they should have been charged with Simple Battery, a misdemeanor, the same as other, white participants in race-motivated fights in the area have received. For white fighters to receive Simple Battery, and black fighters to achieve Attempted Murder, smacks of discrimination - unless there's some relevant evidence we're not seeing here.
The DA and police response to the situation was highly inappropriate. With advent of the first incident, school officials should have addressed the incident by dealing properly and justly with those students involve in the violent incidents. Moreover, school officials should launched a concerted effort to determine those individuals responsible for handing the nooses. If that individual(s) had been dealt with perhaps would not have been any subsequent incidents. Minority students, no doubt, perceived this lack of response on the part of school officials as unconcerned for the safety and welfare of all students. If, in fact, these violent incidents were white-on-black incident, some one - be it the principal and/or other school officials, should viciously addressed this issue. Once the responsible students were identified, school officials should have dealt with and involved their parents. To turn a blind eye on the white-on-black indents and react only when a white student was beaten a black(s) students can be perceived a negligence on the part of school officials.
It is unclear as to the extent black on white incident, but unless the student sustained some damage that were irreversible i.e. loss limbs, sight, concussion, damage to the brain, or the serious involvement of weapons, the time metered out does not match the crime. These are school aged student pupil not adults in a public setting..
What charges did white face? If none, why? It seem to me that the entire school systems, parents, students, as well as elected officials, should be engaged in various on-going sensitivity workshops. This is 2007, not 1957. The Jim Crow era is history. Everyone in the community should valued equally. ALL STUDENTS SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY.