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Jena 6 protest, peace march, and benefit concert today
Submitted by bizgrrl on Thu, 2007/09/20 - 8:26am.
Thousands are converging on Jena, LA today "to show support for the Jena Six, a group of black teenagers who faced felony charges after they allegedly beat a white classmate last school year."
... Critics allege the cases show authorities in this predominantly white town are disproportionately harsh toward black people.
... The school fight in December reportedly was a culmination of a slew of racial taunts, confrontations and a protest by black students after they found nooses hanging from an oak tree where white students usually gathered. The tree has since been cut down.
... "We want people to come in peace. We want people to remain in peace and in order, and to leave in peace," Robert Bailey Sr. said." Bailey is the father of one of the young men now labeled the Jena 6.
Facing South has several articles tracking the Jena 6 legal fiasco.
In a Facing South update on the case we are reminded, As the AP reminds us, the "attempted murder" charge never made sense: "The victim of the Dec. 4 beating, Justin Barker, was treated at a hospital for injuries and released the same day." Later the same day he attended a school function.
I can't speak to the specifics of this issue. However, I don't find it hard to believe black people are treated differently by the legal system and society in general. I've seen it in my travels around the country, north, south, east, and west.
Let there be peace in Jena, LA, today. Let there be change in Jena, LA, and the entire country.
Update: according to Nashville is Talking, hundreds from Nashville are taking buses to attend.
Updates: CNN reports: At 8 a.m. ET, a Louisiana state patrol officer said five tour buses were being allowed into the town every 12 minutes. That resulted in buses lined up as far as the eye could see in both directions on Route 49.
MSNBC reports: Riders on the buses have abandoned them due to stalled traffic. Instead they are moving on foot, some are holding banners and signs, while cameras are recording it all.
Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Thu, 2007/09/20 - 12:41pm.
if you want to understand the furor behind the three nooses that were hung on the tree at the school, you need only visit Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America. Please be aware before entering the site that much of the material is very disturbing.
Submitted by Carole Borges on Thu, 2007/09/20 - 1:21pm.
Strange Fruit : A Poem
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Submitted by StaceyDiamond on Thu, 2007/09/20 - 1:14pm.
Someone needs to direct some of this outrage to the kid in Ga. sitting in prison for having oral sex at age 18 with his 15 yearold girlfriend, who is in prison even though the law has been changed and I think he is waiting on a new trial. Sharpton and some others gave it lip service and it went away.
Sharpton and some others gave it lip service and it went away.
Not enough cameras.
As to Jena, I don't doubt there is discrimination on the part of some in our country. In Jena, there was rightful outrage over the nooses. But, what should they be charged with? Is the proper response a beating?
When the response is a beating, it's easy to match that with a crime.
One has been tried, but the conviction overturned (not on whether he did it or not, but because the appeals court found he should not have been tried as an adult). The others await trial.
Maybe this demonstration will raise needed concerns. But, what is the DA supposed to do, overlook the beating? A jury can take the circumstances into account, but I don't think the DA can just not prosecute the crime.
There's certainly a lot of press coverage. Sharpton, Jesse and even Martin, III...all present and on camera.
if you want to understand the furor behind the three nooses that were hung on the tree at the school, you need only visit Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America. Please be aware before entering the site that much of the material is very disturbing.
Strange Fruit : A Poem
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
by Abel Meeropol in 1937
Someone needs to direct some of this outrage to the kid in Ga. sitting in prison for having oral sex at age 18 with his 15 yearold girlfriend, who is in prison even though the law has been changed and I think he is waiting on a new trial. Sharpton and some others gave it lip service and it went away.
Sharpton and some others gave it lip service and it went away.
Not enough cameras.
As to Jena, I don't doubt there is discrimination on the part of some in our country. In Jena, there was rightful outrage over the nooses. But, what should they be charged with? Is the proper response a beating?
When the response is a beating, it's easy to match that with a crime.
One has been tried, but the conviction overturned (not on whether he did it or not, but because the appeals court found he should not have been tried as an adult). The others await trial.
Maybe this demonstration will raise needed concerns. But, what is the DA supposed to do, overlook the beating? A jury can take the circumstances into account, but I don't think the DA can just not prosecute the crime.
There's certainly a lot of press coverage. Sharpton, Jesse and even Martin, III...all present and on camera.
From a feather to a goose. The two events are not even parallel or comparable. Just another loudspeaker event for Al.
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