Posts with the tag jena 6

Jena 6's Bell Back in Jail

Kay Steiger — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:57:43 EDT

Mychael Bell--the young man who thousands organized around just last month--is back in jail for violating probation of old drug charges:

"We feel this was a cruel and unusual punishment," said [Rev. Al] Sharpton, who was instrumental in organizing the protest held on Sept. 20, the day Bell was originally supposed to be sentenced in the case.

Activists organized around Bell's cause. Read Eliza Krigman's piece on how students at more than 100 campuses organized walkouts to protest inequal charges for blacks in the justice system.

UT Austin's Jena 6 Rally on ABC News

persiancowboy — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:06:14 EDT

ABC News has picked up a video clip of today's rally I submitted through I-Caught:

Jena 6

Kay Steiger — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:15:53 EDT

If you, like me, are looking for some clarity on the Jena 6 rally, Courney Martin has a great piece up at The American Prospect today that explains it:

Indeed, the Jena 6 case, like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is a violent reminder that our country is actually many nations. Despite all of the progress that has been made, racism is still a part of too many American kids' ideological diets. A noose, even in 2007, struck these good ol' Southern boys as an apt symbol for the fear of "the other" that had been bred in them from birth. And their elders -- the school administrators, city officials, and parents -- called their inexcusable hatred by cutesy names: pranks, child's play, boys will be boys. It is a wake-up call to us all: The work of ending racism is far from over.

I encourage you to read the whole thing.