Jena: The Day In Pictures

HuffPo contributor Ben Chaneles is a grassroots media activist, relief worker and law student in New Orleans, Louisiana. He spent yesterday at the Jena 6 march in Jena, Louisiana, and sent us these photos and notes from the day.

Thousands of demonstrators from hundreds of communities gathered at the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena to speak out for justice.

All day long marchers carried signs and chanted slogans at Jena High.

Mos Def: "The issue isn't about black and white. It's about justice for everybody."

Scenes from a town.

Hundreds of African-American motorcycle clubs from around the country organized via word of mouth and the Internet to rally for civil rights in Jena.





I don't really have a caption here, but I've definitely never seen a demonstration that involved happy people on horses before. Seemed worth noting.

Scott Moreau, Louisiana State Trooper and Public Information Officer, told me "The only real problem we had today was folks from out-of-town having trouble with the heat & humidity. Fortunately the Red Cross showed up [from New Orleans] to provide cold water and cookies to the demonstrators."

Trooper Moreau also reported zero arrests, said that the LA Troopers had previously only had experience with crowd control during Mardi Gras, but that they were lucky to have such a great group of participants out to exercise their Constitutional rights.

The rally ended with shade tents, live music, and four barbecue pits!

Comments

[suki21693]

Thank you for the pictures.

I wish we could all be motivated by the actions of these individuals who took the time to go and peacefully raise their voices for what they believe in.

[Independent voter]

Six thugs, including one who has four prior convictions, beat a lone kid - and the black community thinks they should be set free because they want justice.

Are you kidding me? Is this really the right message? There is no doubt that the DA was overzealous, like in the Duke case - but set them free?

Do we want to teach other gangs that it's OK to attack and beat a single individual? Is this really justice? Is this really progress?

I don't think so. There are appropriate charges that should be filed and prosecuted. We can not tolerate gang violence.

[IRIE]

You are so ignorant.

If a group of black boys makes a gang what is a group a white boys? Klan memebers or Neo-Nazi's?

[CitizenRob]

a group of white boys engaging in a criminal activity is a gang as well.

Remember that the term gang as we think of it now really started with white mobs in NYC and Chicago.

[CitizenRob]

Part (1) is the part that applies to what the six kids are being accussed of ("to inflict great bodily harm.")

Here it is:

Louisiana Second Degree Murder
LA R.S. 14:30.1

A. Second degree murder is the killing of a human being:

(1) When the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm; or

[Independent voter]

Six people of any race beating one person is a gang. I don't know what you call it. I don't know why you don't get it. Somehow six thugs attacking a single individual makes them freedom fighters or folk heroes. Well bullshit on that notion.

My grandmother was a Native American and her people's land was stolen, they were murdered and forced to live in poverty. However I don't feel that this terrible injustice to my ancestors is valid justification for me to go around beating the crap out of people.

Grow up. Try something new - like demanding that people accept responsibility for their actions.

Freedom fighters, my ass.

[uheardme]

"There are appropriate charges that should be filed and prosecuted­."

You're right.

Unfortunately, this Prosecutor wanted to send a message to the Blacks in Jena, Louisiana. Blacks across this country heard this son of a bitch loud and clear.

Again, where's the REASONED, RESPONSIBLE, AND FAIR WHITE LEADERSHIP? Obviously, there isn't such a thing.

[deleweye]

We tolerate gang violence every day - as long as the gang is called the Bush Administration, the DEA, the LAPD, etc, ad infinitum ad nauseum. "Our" gangs are the good guys; "their" gangs are the bad guys. "We" tolerated gang violence in Jena as long as the gang consisted of the school superintendent, the district attorney and the court - if we hadn't, "they" wouldn't have felt the need to fight back.

The "thug" with the priors, BTW, was a varsity running back for the Jena HS football team. I'm cynical enough to have noticed they arrested him after football season was over - otherwise he might have had at least a few whites from the booster club speaking up for him - unless he dropped too many passes from the white quarterback.

I'm white and Southern, so don't bother, Independen­t_of_good_­sense.

[Independent voter]

I don't see where the school principal used violence as a means to accomplish his intended goal - unless you meant violence against the tree. Perhaps you can post the link.

[Independent voter]

If you are a white southerner as you claim and you knew that this type of unfair application of the law took place in your backyard and you sat around and did nothing about it....

Then you are part of the problem.

[TruthSlayer]

Wow. 6 kids beat the heck out of 1 kid and you morons are defending the 6 punks.. From what I read the kid they beat up had nothing to do with the hanging nooses. I do agree that the DA is way out of line for charging these 6 kids with second degree murder attempt. If anything they should of been charged with assult and battery. Better yet those 6 kids should of organized a demonstration or a protest march instead of beating 1 defenseless white kid. Their parents should be real proud.

[STParker]

The point is that there were charges against the black kids for commiting violent acts, but when a white kid pointed a shotgun at black kids the black kids got in trouble for wrestling it away. That is ridiculous.
The demonstration is not pro-violence or anti-justice. It is about the overly sever punishment and an incredibly unfair double standard.

[ThursdaysChild]

I'll reply here, and this goes as a response to Independent_voter below.

In actuality, one of the black kids was attacked FIRST, having his head bashed with a beer bottle. The response from the black students was as much to this previous assault, which had only been classified as a misdemeanor and NOT assault & battery, as much as to the nooses.

[CitizenRob]

Okay, let's examine what you just said. "One of the black kids was attacked FIRST" Oh really? Yeah I read that too, but I also read there were days between this incident, and the incident with the six kids attacking the one kid.

"having his head bashed with a beer bottle." Wow, if I go to school in Jena can I drink beer on campus too? Oh wait, no, this supports the fact that there was a LARGE time laps between the two events. Surely enough time for the second attack of the six kids against the one kid to be planned (hence the second degree) and then carried through.

[Stevelagain]

Thank you for getting it right. These 6 need to be tired and punished for their hate crime and their gang attack on this innocent, lone individual.

Black racism is no more acceptable than white racism.

[nihilon x]

So -- again -- why do you keep turning a blind eye to the "white racism" in this issue, which includes not only the kids involved, but the authorities who handed out unfair sentences?

[IRIE]

A get it any group of black kids constitutes a gang.

They have no gang affiliation. They were athletes.

I bet you don't even know what an ignorant and racist that is and that is why you will never understand anything about injustice because you can not even see it in yourself.

[suki21693]

And how long should they serve for assault? One of those kids has already been in for nine months. Isn't that enough?

Freeing them doesn't necessarily mean exonerating them.

[CitizenRob]

Suki, 9 months is a long time, especially for a kid. I hope that he is set free for time served if there is a conviction.

[NewsNag]

sure the six should be punished - fairly - but you, commenter, I would bet know absolutely nothing about the blacks being beaten up by whites and having shotgun pulled on them by whites between the noose incident and the six beating up the one. You ignore context because all you care about is your white racism.

So get fully informed so your comments aren't so biased and ignorant next time, unless you prefer to be blind to the truth because it violates your own racism

Love,
News Nag

[Nommo]

There's little to be gained bantering with the willfully uninformed racists posting here. Their only concern is seeing Black children in jail and their sense of entitlement and privilege sustained. Note all the "thug' references.
White people cannot be wrong. They pretend to not have a clue to the meaning of the "white tree" or the the hanging of the nooses. Those who hung the nooses knew full well what they meant to convey.
Remember that Jena is right in the heart of David Duke land and that those people had already cast their votes in the majority for Duke.
Apparently, it is not a crime for whites to brandish a shotgun against Blacks. It is an innocent act to invite the young Black man to a whites only party where he gets beat up. It is apparently ok for an officer of the court to issue a threat against Black youths.
But this is America, what else is new?

[CitizenRob]

So if a white person pulls a gun on a black it's racist. But if a black person pulls a gun on a white it isn't? I've been mugged at gun point by a black man. It was the most violent thing that has ever been done to me in my life.

Did he do it because I was white? I hope not. I think he did it because he was poor and needed the money I had. I try not to hate black people, or the poor. I also try not to indict the police that didn't catch him despite the mugging occurring across the street from a police station. I don't think the police hate white people just because they didn't prosecute this individual (who had a very distinctive scar the size of a silver dollar on his cheek.)

It's all about evidence, witnesses, etc..

[mdeneen]

10,000 real people in the streets beats a 100,000 bloggers any day of the week. THIS is the way you get change. Thanks for the pics. Free the Jena Six!!

[Doug]

That's not how the court system works.

6 kids beat 1. The motive was racial. Was it attempted murder? We don't know because the fight was stopped very quickly. Was it a hate crime? YOU BET!!!

[alcarcalimo2364]

Yes, the motive was racial because the white kid was spewing hate speech. It wasn't a hate crime however. They didn't beat up the kid for being white, they beat him up for what he said. You need to look up hate crime laws and see what they say. No, the kids, and let me emphasize KIDS, shouldn't have beat up the other one, but at the same time, charging people with attempted murder because of a school fight? That's rediculous, especially when the white kid was released from the hospital and went partying! Pretty incredible feat for a kid who was almost "murdered" earlier in the day.

[shawshank]

Thanks for the pics. I hope this leads to more demonstrations against the blatantly rascist justice system. And how come this D.A. isn't getting the same scorn as Nifong. Since Nifong's main crime was that he tried to ruin the young men's lives, same thing here.

[Stevelagain]

And if 6 White Guys had beat the crap out of one black guy, you would be supporting the white guys?

Those 6 need to be tried and pay for their crime.

Even if they are black and thus "politically correct".

Black hate crimes and violence against whites is no more "acceptable" than white hate crimes and violence against blacks.

I'm sorry the charges may have been to severe, back them down and try these black racists for their crimes.

[lisakaz]

Their "crime" though isn't "attempted murder" and this DA was practically trying to put these kids away for life. The 16 yr old convicted (with no defense witnesses, as if the public defender was told not to defend the kid) had the conviction overturned for the "crime" being tried in an adult court. And there were white kids not charged with anything, including one who pulled a gun on a black kid. The black kid got into a tussle and seized the gun; for his bravery only he was charged -- with stealing the gun. You wanna call that justice?

[siegfried]

I'm not sure these six young men are completely innocent. It seems obvious they are overcharged. Why was the young man who pulled the shotgun not charged and the young men who disarmed him were?

[Lucille]

To Stevelagain,

One of the comments made to the New York Times yesterday regarding this, said the same thing you have. However, The Times left a lot of information out of their articles, which made it difficult for anyone to make an informed comment, like:

1. In between the time when the Black boys asked permission of the school principal to sit under the "White tree” and it was given (an outrage that a tree had been designated just for White people in itself);

2. After the nooses where hung in retaliation for such a deviant act, some White boys later approached the Black kids with a shot gun and warned them to not let it happen again (of course no charges were filed against the White kids for pointing a load shot gun at the Black kids);

3. The White kid who was beaten up was warned to shut up before he was attacked, as he was insulting the Black kids. The beaten up White kid eventually fainted, was taken to the hospital and was well enough to go out partying later that same night;

4. The prosecutor who saw fit to charge the Black kids's with attempted murder, said the lethal weapon used was one of their sneakers, yet this same district attorney's office refused to charge the White kids with anything after they hanging the nooses from the “White Tree” and pointing a shot gun after the Black kids.

So exactly who is the racists again?

[nihilon x]

I would support a full investigation into what provoked the beating.

It isn't about "supporting" the six black kids who attacked the white kid -- its about supporting fair and equal treatment under the law.

"Black hate crimes and violence against whites is no more "acceptable" than white hate crimes and violence against blacks."

So why then were no white kids charged in the series of incidents that led up to this beating?