I don't know how many of you know about the Jena Six. And, because I am absolutely disgusted by the treatment of these students, I am actually at a loss for words right now. This gets little air time, but Michael Vick, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie get unlimited free coverage? This is so backwards. PLEASE take 2 minutes to visit at least one of the following sites.
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
The Case of the Jena Six: Black High School Students Charged with Attempted Murder for Schoolyard Fight After Nooses Are Hung from Tree
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220
http://www.naacp.org/splashjena.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za4B4KhIVTE
http://www.petitiononline.com/aZ51CqmR/petition.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/324177_amygoodman19.html
NAACP SUPPORTS THE PEOPLE OF JENA
THE ACTION WE NEED YOU TO TAKE:
Sign the Petition:
Donate online to the: Jena 6 Defense Fund OR Mail donations to: Jena 6 Defense Committee, P. O. Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342
Make a Phone Call:
Send a letter to the Louisiana Governor and the Louisiana Attorney General:
THE FACTS:
In a small highly segregated rural Louisiana town of Jena in September 2006, a black student asked permission from school administrators to sit under the shade of a tree commonly reserved for the enjoyment of white students. School officials advised the black students to sit wherever they wanted and they did. The next day, three nooses, in the school colors, were hanging from the same tree. The Jena high school principal found that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The white superintendent of schools over-ruled the principal and gave the students a three day suspension, saying that the nooses were “a youthful stunt.” Black students decided to resist and organized a sit-in under the tree to protest the lenient treatment given to the noose-hanging white students.
Racial tensions remained elevated throughout the fall. On Monday, December 4 2006, a white student who allegedly had been racially taunting black students in support of the students who hung the nooses got into a fight with black students.
Allegedly, the white student was taken to the hospital treated, released, reportedly attended a social function later that evening.
As a result of this incident, six black Jena students were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder. All six were expelled from school. The six charged were: 17-year-old Robert Bailey Junior whose bail was set at $138,000; 17-year-old Theo Shaw - bail $130,000; 18-year-old Carwin Jones--bail $100,000; 17-year-old Bryant Purvis--bail $70,000; 16 year old Mychal Bell, a sophomore in high school who was charged as an adult and for whom bail was set at $90,000; and a still unidentified minor.
On the morning of the trial, the District Attorney reduced the charges from attempted second degree murder to second degree aggravated battery and conspiracy. Aggravated battery in Louisiana law demands the attack be with a dangerous weapon. The prosecutor was allowed to argue to the jury that the tennis shoes worn by Bell could be considered a dangerous weapon.
When the pool of potential jurors was summoned, fifty people appeared, all white. The jury deliberated for less than three hours and found Mychal Bell guilty on the maximum possible charges of aggravated second degree battery and conspiracy. He faces up to a maximum of 22 years in prison.
The rest of the Jena 6 await similar trials. Theodore Shaw is due to go on trial shortly. Mychal Bell is scheduled to be sentenced July 31. If he gets the maximum sentence he will not be out of prison until he is nearly 40.
THE MESSAGE:
As Chairman Julian Bond stated, "This is an American outrage that demonstrates the continuing shame of racial division in our country. Join us in making it one of the last."
In light of the circumstances surrounding Mychal Bell's case, we urge all concerned citizens to support the call for a new trial.
It is unacceptable to selectively enforce the law based on race. Prosecutorial discretion should be used in a fair and equitable manner.
The Jena Six should be tried by juries that reflect the racial and ethnic demographics of Jena, Louisiana.
The hanging of nooses is not a "youthful stunt" or "prank." It is a hate crime. Such hate crimes should not be tolerated at any school. Jena High School must establish a curriculum which promotes cultural sensitivity and understanding.
The NAACP calls on Louisiana Governor Kathleen B. Blanco and Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti to thoroughly investigate and monitor the trials of Mychal Bell, Robert Bailey, Jr., Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and John Doe. The Governor and State Attorney General should do everything in their power to ensure that these young men's constitutional rights are protected.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!!
If you have any questions, call Angela Ciccolo at the National Headquarters at (410) 580-5777
*M*
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2 comments:
First, some pertinent information:
I stopped watching TV nearly seven years ago, and almost entirely for news-related issues. It was one part distaste with the stories being covered, one part disgust with the manner in which all stories were covered, and one heaping spoonful exhaustion after the news glut that followed September 11th.
But I am obsessed with the news. I get it all online and in print (mostly online) and from a wide range of sources (thank you, news aggregates).
Here's the conundrum in a story like this: I am quick to blame the media for a lot of things, and I think the media at large has suffered a tragic dereliction of duty as the pursuit of the Almighty Dollar has taken center stage. But the pursuit of the Almighty Dollar was, more or less, inevitable. It is for any machine.
So where to lay the blame? I then eyeball the sweating masses, the grease-fed citizens that swill the Paris and Lindsay and Britney stories (you know I find a touch more gravitas in the Michael Vick case. But now he's plead guilty, and we can all wait for the slap on the wrist and The Glorious Return...the man hasn't yet seen a cell, and he's already "found Jesus." Jesus.)
But where is the problem? Is it people refusing to examine themselves and say, Yes, we still have problems. Yes, we still espouse racist behavior. No, we have not cured our social ills.
Or is it that no one (media or otherwise) gets into the faces of the people and says SHAME. SHAME, and SHAME, and LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND SEE YOURSELF. Where is that person? Where is that machine?
CNN.com had an article today about a tragic series of events that took place in a small town in Ohio. A property was trespassed upon by kids; shots were fired. A young woman is left partially paralyzed. The first words about her in the article? "A pretty blonde girl." I almost choked. The words were obviously intended to impart a deeper sense of tragedy. Instead, they made the story maudlin.
I see now that I'm ascending a ladder to the moon. I don't know where it will end, or if, or what I would do when I got there. You are right to be outraged; we should all be outraged. But frankly, what gets me most is that so few people care enough to even care.
JOIN the AFROSPHERE JENA 6 COALITION in a DAY OF BLOGGING FOR JUSTICE, THURS. AUG. 30th.
Go to http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/day-of-blogging-for-justice/.
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