The bail money was not a matter of problems with distribution. They walked INTO the courthouse WITH the money (I believe $9,000 or $10,000) and were told that he would be released. People stood outside cheering when they found out. The Jena 6 Defense fund is used to defend all six young men, so that money is distributed not just to Mychal Bell, but to others. Would it have been more efficient to use the money to get Bell out of jail? I wish that would've been done, but then what happens to the other five, specifically Purvis who wasn't even a part of the fight? He just walked over to see the crowd and who was fighting. I wonder did this Earl guy actually go to the rally or is he speculating on something he heard. Folks who didn't do anything forever want to criticize what should have been done while they sit at home on their cushy couches. Ugh. That disgusts me. Thank you for posting this blog. I'm sharing this information on my AC site so other ralliers I know can let this man know that we did donate. I watched money go into boxes RIGHT IN FRONT of the courthouse.
Why Civil Rights Leaders Didn't Get Jena 6 Defendant Mychal Bell Out of Jail
One very conspicuous person missing from the cast of thousands in Jena was Mychal Bell. The seventeen year old more than any other of the Jena 6 teens fueled the furor over the case. Bell has languished in jail since last December. He's stayed there in part because of the heavy duty charges against him. The DA claims that several other scrapes with the law helped keep him there. But he's there in bigger part because his family couldn't raise the portion of the $90,000 bond the courts slapped on Bell. For a working class, black family, in a low wage small Southern town, this seems like a King's ransom. But as bail goes in felony conviction cases, this is not exorbitant. So why didn't civil rights leaders, the black celebrities, and the marchers that made Bell a cause celebre and eagerly mugged for the TV cameras pony up the cash to get him out?
The painful answer to that is that civil rights leaders let Bell down. They filled the air with harsh rhetoric about a new civil rights movement, hawked and wore black T-shirts with slogans like "Enough is enough" and "Free the Jena 6," and saber rattled the DA with talk about hauling him before a Congressional committee. Instead, they should have filled baskets with checks to spring Bell. British rocker/actor David Bowie pointed to this shameful failure when he did more than shout and fist wave. He put up $10,000 for the Jena Defense legal Fund. Any one of the legion of high profile, millionaire black entertainers and athletes that routinely shell out big bucks for dinners, soirees, and celebrity bashes could have easily written a check for $10, 000. But the Jena 6 cause is not a social event or a respected and safe charity. These are the kind of feel-good, safe and respectable conscience salvers that athletes and entertainers are comfortable giving too. The Jena 6 case is edgy, controversial, and squarely finger points the deep and troubling racial bias in the criminal justice system, it also makes some squirm at the uncomfortable thought of siding with black male teens. They have been relentlessly tagged as crime prone and deviant.
The reluctance of the black endowed to fork over Bell's bail makes makes some sense given what they typically give too. The parsimony of the civil rights groups and leaders, as well as the chanting marchers, doesn't make sense. But this is hardly the first time civil rights leaders and activists have been knocked for not putting their money where their protest is. During the heyday of the 1960s civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., logged more hours begging, cajoling, and pleading with wealthy white Hollywood celebs, foundation heads, and corporate executives to bankroll SCLC than in the streets. Without their backing SCLC would have been out of business.
The NAACP found itself on the financial rocks in the 1980s when the nickels and dimes that it relied on for decades from working class blacks dried up. To keep the doors open, it had to hustle dollars from major corporations through pricey dinners and banquets. The organization in turn was rapped by black activists for retreating from cutting edge social activism. Yet, if their corporate benefactors hadn't filled the NAACP's coffers it would have sunk.
The reluctance and refusal of activists that shouted until they were hoarse for "freedom for the Jena 6" to back up the call with cash for Bell is only part of the reason why Bell sat in a jail cell during the march. There's the deep suspicion that funds raised for a political cause often get lost on the way to helping the cause. That's a charitable way of saying that more than once large sums have been raised for a cause, and the cause turned out to be a fatter bank account for those who hustled the money. The Jena 6 case is no exception. One well-known national civil rights organization touched off howls of protests when it announced on its website that it was raising money for the teen's legal defense. The problem was that it asked that the money be sent to it. It backpedaled fast after the outcry and quickly announced that the funds should go directly to the address of the Jena 6 Legal Fund in Louisiana.
The disgust at the injustice within the injustice of Bell still having to scratch and claw for bond money even as thousands screamed for his release prompted several civil rights groups in Los Angeles to immediately write checks for his release and his legal expenses. They didn't stop there. They challenged the national civil rights organizations and leaders to match their donations. Their challenge was more than a grab for money for Bell. It sent a message that shouting about injustice rings hollow if it's not matched by a willingness to make a financial sacrifice to combat that injustice.
The Reverend Al Sharpton said that he was practically moved to tears at the sight of Bell in shackles and a prison jump suit. It's not tears that will get him out of that suit, it's dollars. The shame is that many of those who demand his freedom didn't put up a nickel to see that he got it.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation between African-Americans and Hispanics (Middle Passage Press and Hispanic Economics New York) in English and Spanish will be out in October.
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All right, I read this line and was extremely heated "So why didn't civil rights leaders, the black celebrities, and the marchers that made Bell a cause celebre and eagerly mugged for the TV cameras pony up the cash to get him out?" First of all, there was a radio personality there sitting on a roof with helpers walking around with boxes who did indeed collect money. They GOT the money to bail him out (and I've contributed regularly through buying the shirt, donating money from my Associated Content articles on the Jena 6 as well as ponying up money of my own. When we left, we were told that he'd be released later that night or early the next morning. It wasn't until we were back on the buses and headed home that buses such as mine got a phone call stating that the JUDGE refused to let Bell go. It wasn't about the bail money. It was the JUDGE who would not let him go because he said it was too early. I called the judge's office and talked to one young lady who refused to put him on the phone as well as calling DA Reed Walters to try to talk to him (he's changed his number I believe) and the court is stating that since he was sent to juvenile court, the money for the bail could not be used to release him. It had nothing to do with the ralliers and everything to do with that courthouse. I cannot wait until my account is activated so I can speak directly to this writer, but until then, I want to let you know that I was one of the people standing outside of the courthouse.
Here is link to what seems like a very level headed review of the situation in Jena.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3641855
My advice is that you go read it.
Unfortunately, Mychal hasn't been eligible for bail since late June when he was convicted. Before then bail could have been raised, however we have gone back to jail (and stayed in jail) starting on June 21st to now.
When people complain about what other people did and didn't do. I ask them, just what did you do. Did you go to Jena and put your 2 cents in? Tell me what the racist judge did, what the racist DA did. Why all the appeasing. Ask why they had to go there in the first place already!!! OK!!!
Some people always have to make things about Jesse and Al. It's not about them, they are just the messengers. It reminds me so much of Republicans, they can't defend the message, so they attack the messenger. America needs to wise up and start seeing through this bull crap!
I'm not a republican, and I dislike the reverends" Al and Jesse. They didn't have a message, just inflamed pointless, informationless rhetoric. They are only marginally in Jena to help the 6. Mostly their game is shameless self-promotion. And that should bother us all.
Earl,
Are you sure that there currently is bail for Mychal Bell?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/21/AR2007092100111.html?hpid=topnews
Let me tell the racist fools here. This criminal administration has turned the world against the U.S.. We have made millions, our enemy throughout the world, Who'd love to blow all of us to shit.
Now this racist shit, has the protential to start a race war. What the fuck do you think will happen? Will some of them use this tension to start one for their benefit? Will they murder a large group of blacks and make it appear whites did. Will they murder a large group of whites and make it appear blacks did it?
Racism is massive in this country, and you know it. Denying it want make us go away. We will not GO AWAY. So keep being racist.
I and most blacks have experienced the hatred our entire lives. Now our grandchildren are being fucked with on a daily basis. So keep it up. HERE!!! I don't think the enemie this country created, gives a rats ass what color we are.
Besides, we have our own problems with terrorists.
So called Law enforcement, basically. These people act as if there are no extreme white supremacist organizations out there. There are bunches of them. Organized and armed to the gills.
Lots of them are in government. What do we do about that?
Prove it. Its one thing to make a wild paranoid claim about government infiltration by white supremisist organizations its quite another to prove it. I'm not saying it can't happen. And certainly there are no shortages of hate groups in the country. But they have been marginalized and made more or less powerless.
However there is little events of distrust and isolation on either side of our countries many color lines.
Racism makes this country insecure, it makes us vulnerable. Thats what i am talking about. I know people in our government are just as racist as anyone else. Heck, the people in the government are madeup of people like the DA in Jena and the racist who post here. We have to deal with it the best way we can. We can do no less.
That's a VERY GOOD question!
We will not let up. I could care a rats ass what racist think about us coming to their town. We will keep coming. It will get bigger and more intense. We will not continue to take this kind of shit. The racist be dam.
Meet the New South, SAME as the Old South
is the answer to your question this? The bond was not available after conviction. Or why can the judge deny bail now?
Hey Earl, the judge refuse Mychal Bell bail today. I guess it wouldn't have mattered if Jessie or Al raised the money.
I live in a suburb of Philadelphia,Pa.Not to be too dramatic but there is essentially a national epidemic of black on black violence plauging our inner cities that needs to be addressed by the very leaders that are rushing down to this overblown dust-up in La. These guys need to get their priorities straight.Stop chasing headlines and go where you're really needed.
Sorry but black on black crime is considered ACCEPTABLE. It's ONLY an issue when whites are involved.
No one considers black on black crime acceptable.
It is an abundant problem though and more common than violence between blacks and whites.
Maybe acceptable to you. Not to me. All violent criminals should be in jail, regardless of color.
a school fight doesn't constitute criminal action. I am sure that all you people that are denying these yound kids justice, justify your stupidity by saying that they deserve to be in jail for their actions. It was a school fight. The appropriate punishment is suspension from school. The instigators should be punished as well.
Oh, Mr. Hutchinson Bail was denied because he has been convicted. IT has nothing to do with raising the money.
Um, have faith, it wasn't a school fight. It was a beat down. Not one on one. Six on one. They left the kid unconscious after stomping on him for good measure. How is that a fight?
Oh thats right its not. It just brutal assault!
I'm not one for denying the kids a fair trial, but the major facts of the case are not in dispute. The kid who was convicted quickly by a jury of whites had pled the case down.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3641855
It is a battery. There is no immunity from the law because you are on school grounds.
Would you say the same thing if somebody pulled a gun and shot the other person? "A school fight does not justify criminal action" is stupid bullshit.
Earl, nationally syndicated dj Michael Baisden just said, over the airwaves, that he would out of pocket pay for something related to the Jena 6. I am not certain what exactly it is, but certainly it addresses, to some extent, your blog's concern.
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Posted September 21, 2007 | 10:29 AM (EST)