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Racism, Hatred and Southern Justice are Alive and Well in Jena, Louisiana
"Outsiders need to stay away." That's what Billy Fowler of the school board in Jena, Louisiana, said about those who have raised concerns about the sentencing imposed on six African American boys -- ages 15-17 -- facing 100 years in prison.
Outsiders are always what people in the South have called those who challenge racism. But the story of Jena is not an outsider/insider story. It's a story about the worst tradition of what is known as Southern Justice. And like in the days of Jim Crow, it's a story where any shades of grey matter far less than black and white.
The issue by now has become well known: discussed on CNN and in the pages of USA Today. At Jena High School, a black student received permission from school authorities to sit underneath what was known as "the white tree" (remarkable that he felt he had to ask!) The next day, in retribution, three nooses hung from the branches, threats that they would soon be harvesting "strange fruit."
In protest black students collectively decided to sit under the tree. This a bold and beautiful act in the spirit of the best traditions of the '60s. They refused to comply with racist terror, even when those threats are as drastic as being lynched for simply not staying in your place.
And just like in the old South, the state made clear which side it was on. The town DA, Reid Walters, actually had the audacity to threaten only the black students, telling them that he had the power to ruin their lives with the stroke of his pen if they continued to make trouble.
Tensions escalated over the course of the semester. Two black students were beaten by a white student while another group of black students were threatened with a shotgun by a former classmate. Surprisingly, none of the white students or former students were punished in any way for these incidents.
But the following Monday when a white student was beaten up by six black classmates, they were immediately arrested and charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, charges that would put them in jail for 100 years without parole. The Jena 6 ranges in age from 15-17. The white student spent three hours in a hospital emergency room and required no further medical care.
Mychall Bell was the first student tried. He was represented by a public defender that called no witness, and was quickly convicted by an all-white jury, white judge, and now faces up to 22 years in prison.
Recently, in response to a public outcry about the case, prosecutors have announced that charges against Shaw and Jones had been reduced to lesser felonies. But the need to be heard on this continues. Two other students, Robert Bailey Jr. and Bryant Purvis, still await trial for attempted murder. Bell's conviction has been allowed to stand even though the judge ruled he had been improperly convicted in an adult court when he should have been tried as a juvenile. Shaw and Jones still face years in prison.
As Billy Hunter, the head of the National Basketball Player's association, said:
"The situation in Jena, Louisiana is abominable and rotten to the core. The actions of the District Attorney demonstrate that "racism and bigotry are live and well in Jena ." As a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California and Assistant Chief in the S.F. District Attorney's Office, it is my opinion that the District Attorney's has severely overcharged the case revealing his bias against the six black Jena youth. His actions should serve as a wake-up call for all Americans who believe in an impartial and fair criminal justice system."
This is a case that should outrage any individual regardless of the color of their skin. When the justice system can be a direct symbol of racism, injustice and terror, the very moral fiber of our society is threatened. This is not a time for neutrality. Insiders and so-called outsiders will be marching in Jena on September 20th. We will also be circulating a statement in the world of sports for those who choose to support the efforts to have the charges against the Jena 6 dismissed. The simple truth is that when it comes to issues of basic justice, there are no such thing as "outsiders."
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That is good ole boy polictics at its best I also think it is racist and unconstitutional. Dead center REpug country.
Except there NOT republicans. Landrieu's are very close friends of the Clinton's. And afterall, "wasn't alot of African-Americans calling Clinton America's first black president".
I am physically sick at this story. What can I do to help? I can write letters and I can try to raise attention to this issue but as a citizen of another state I have no footing in the LA political system.
We should be outraged. We should be demanding change. But how? Should I call my congress critter?
Jeff
Jeff, you are doing your share of what you believe. I congratulate you. Since you do have such a strong opinion on this. I suggest you also call and email the radio and TV talkshows up and email the politicians, newspaper editorials, etc.
Where is Jena?
Those who ask where Blanco and Landieu are: those two are republican idiots in white women's bodies. Landieu mostly votes with the Senate republicans, in lockstep with Vitters. Blanco just fights for power. She is a goofball. Remember how she fought with Bush during Katrina's rage? They wrestled with each other while people suffered in New Orleans. Have you noticed whether Blanco does anythign for New Orleans?
Louisiana is one of the dumbest states in the union. It compares with Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma for dumbest state honors. Although all of the above are corrupt 3rd world states of the union, Louisiana could be the most corrupt of them all.
White democrats from Louisiana are Jim Crow Democrats. If they could get elected, they would be republicons...James Carville, John Breaux...et al.
Believe it or not, Louisiana isn't the most corrupt state in the Union. Per a recent ranking, Louisiana came in third, North Dakota (who'd have thunk it?) came in second, but the gold medal went to Mississippi.
There DEMOCRATS, not republicans. BTW, one is a woman. You confuse the Lt. Gov (Mitch) with his US Senator sister (Mary). And both are very very close friends of the Clinton's, who afterall some blacks claimed as "the first black president." So don't deny it.
USC- Upstate got 300 million during Clintons Administration and put in a massive road system to but is unable to put any professional schools in because USC-Columbia refuses to allow them any right to do anything but pre-med pre-Pharmacy and pre-law as the main campuse has over crowding and 1000 applicants for 80 spots in the professional schools. If Racist Doug Smith and Ralph Davenport what to keep the brightest and best and people with ability and talent maybe they aught to let USC-Upstate take that 150 million for an Amusement Park and put up a School of Medicine, School of Law and a School of engineering at USC-Upstate and start education PhD's at Upstate so people with talent and ablity have a reason for hanging around.
It gets better. 20,000 jobs have been lost due to mills moving out. DSS has no budget for assitant to the poor and homeless. There are 261,000 people living in Spartanburg Conty and only 945 families on welfare. With no jobs and no way of getting help I can only guess where the industry is? Illegal drugs? I can only guess?
Am I the only one who saw this coming when we sent our entire textile industry offshore?
What was the predominant industry in Spartanburg? So say the mills moved out? Where did they go? Inform us. I'm interested and curious.
They drew a circle in the center of town near a commnity called Converse Heights that gave 1 million dollars in one month during Bushes campaign. They drew a circle closest to the people with talent and ablitly. The black community is not part of the Howard street. She was told that that was on the borders of the circle.
What am I to inferr about this? The people who live in Spartanburg are a bunch of retards.We need to attract people worth keeping so we are going to build them a 150 million dollar amusement park?
So did they all scream when Clinton pushed through NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and all those one-sided trade agreements with Asian nations? Or did they sit back and just let there jobs leave America?
In Spartanburg County the most racist Republican party in the country is in control. Doug Smith and Ralph Davenport got together and got 150million dollar capital fund appropriated to do im. provements to the inner center of the City of Spartanburg. They said they want to spend 150 million to keep peopele with talent and ability to stay in Spartanburg. They need to attract people who are the brightest and best. They want to improve the brightest and best communities.
Christin,
I'm a Spartanburg native, now living in Seattle. I graduated from SHS in '80. You sound like a person who really cares about the community and follows local politics closely. Gather your friends and supporters, and start going to every city council meeting. Write dozens of letters to the editor, call local radio, etc. Let local leaders know what your neighborhoods need, and get petitions going (I wish I were there to help you!) Find out who represents your area and bug them endlessly. Good luck - the good people of Spartanburg (and there are thousands of them) need you...
Whats Spartanburg got to do with Jena, LA......Hey, I live in totally democrat Cook County. And the TOTALLY DEMOCRAT city of Chicago. Come here, I'll show you the MOST SEGREGATED city in North America
The nooses were clearly meant as a terroristic threat and the student who hung them should be prosecuted accordingly.
Absolutely.
Good point.
No arguement from me on that.
Racism isn't just 'alive and well' down here in Louisiana. It's getting worse. The divisive atmosphere created and maintained as part of the Republican 'southern strategy' to pit whites against blacks has actually sent us backwards to a time when racial hostilities were worse than most of us could remember in our lifetimes.
The southern Republicans (formerly Democrats) will soon be taking their grandaddies' sheets out of the closet.
This is really sad--I'm worried about Louisiana. But nationally-speaking, do you think that if a Democratic administration is voted in next year (complete with a majority-Democratic Congress) this trend will be reversed, or are Democrats as bad on this issue as are the Republicans?
Since many Democratic politicians are in fact "minorities" I would say no.
Republican conventions are primarily composed of white males -- the same ones who benefit from the systematic racism inherent in American society.
Many (non-white) Democratic politicians would take a stand against this kind of racism if only because it affects them indirectly.
Most Republicans would see it as a divisive issue, and might remain silent on the issue if only because they don't want to anger their "base" of white males -- whether wealthy or rural.
A lot of things went through my mind before I started typing, but it came down to this. I wonder who the fine citizens of Jena voted for in the elections of 2000? 2004? The elected officials are not the root of all evil. It is the morons who voted them into office. I hope all the decent people in America will get off their butts and "out shout" the morons in 2008.
Where the fcuk is the outrage? Six on one is not a fair fight, but it also doesn't constitute attempted murder. Misdemeanor assault should be the obvious charge against these kids. Why haven't any charges been filed against the white boys? They also should be held to account for their actions. Why aren't Huff Post readers up in arms about this travesty of justice? I agree with those who've commented about so many readers getting their panties in a bunch over Michael Vick, rightfully so, but then don't seem so concerned about the state imposed racism in Jena... WTF???? No wonder black people back up their own folk when accused of crimes. Somebody really is out to get them.....
Six guys should not beat one guy no matter what spin you put on it. The case should be judged in its own merits not in past facts. The whites that did wrong should also be punished. How come one guy beat two is the same as six guys beat one?
Due to past grievances and social inequalities some blacks are bulling high school students all over the country. Here in Miami I have seen cute latino girls being terrorized by big black girls.(A 120 pounds Argentinian blond was badly beaten by a bunch of 300 pound black girls in Miami Beach high school and she could not file a police report because she is illegal) My daughters who are brown have developed a bad feeling for blacks because of bad experiences in high school, and Haitians and Nigerian students in Miami share this bad opinion of African American. These few black fellows are doing a disservice to their race and to all minorities by exhibiting a rude behavior historically associated with the worst white southern racists. People that gang to beat other race guys are to be punished no matter their race or justification.
I think that you need to study a bit of the history of the nation that you now live in.
Regardless of past history, all wrongs are just that, wrong . And past history is NO EXCUSE for a present-day wrong.
Sorry but you are barking at the wrong moon I am a history junk.
"These few black fellows are doing a disservice to their race and to all minorities by exhibiting a rude behavior historically associated with the worst white southern racists."
These INDIVIDUALS are doing themselves a disservice by with such behavior -- no one should judge an entire group based on the actions of SOME members of said group.
Its way past time people stopped generalizing about the entire "race" of some people based on the actions of the worst elements of their community -- why should the black people who don't engage in such behavior be stigmatized by the actions of those that do?
Should all whites by stigmatized by the fact that most school shootings are performed by whites? Should all whites be stigmatized by the overt racism shown towards these six black students?
Likewise, should all black people be stigmatized by the fact that the black people in this story attacked the white student -- whether it was with or without provocation?
Should all Latinos be stigmatized by the fact that some Latinos have chosen to shoot and kill some black people just because of the color of their skin?
If we were judging these people as INDIVIDUALS rather than by race, we wouldn't have situations like this where people wound up getting beaten or going to jail just because someone decided long ago that people of a certain color couldn't sit under a damn "white" tree.
Since my honest feelings on this matter were apparently considered politically incorrect by the "moderators" - a white Southerner actually used bad words in recommending violence against the white "authorities" in Jena - I'll step back and let nihilon and Nommo carry the torches on this one (gee, Nommo even gets to use the "n" word and I can't even call the Jena DA a white trash SOB - and yes, Nommo, we've gone head-to-head in the past, but you have the right on this one.)
But perhaps I will be allowed to say that while there is a time and place for sweet reason and consciousness-raising, there are also times when the actions of a gang of bigoted bullies is so egregious, hypocritical and corrupt that both citizenship and humanity require that the bullies' actions be stopped, period, whatever it takes.
Well said...I'll shorten it up for you. "there are assholes in all races."
You are right and that is exactly what I told my daughters, but traumatic experiences specially when you are a young person are psychological not logical reactions, as women that have been raped dont blame all men but they cannot help but to fear all men. The same with my daughters they dont blame all blacks but they have bad feelings for all blacks because of these few. I am also willing to admit that the violent behavior of these few black bullies is most probably a reaction to previous abuse. Violence reproduces like a computer virus...
"Should all whites by stigmatized by the fact that most school shootings are performed by whites? Should all whites be stigmatized by the overt racism shown towards these six black students?"
I love what you've said and I agree, but...I'm a sociology major and actually, for a long time, I've really been wanting to hear conversations about the fact that the school shooters are almost all white males. They are! What's that about? That doesn't mean white males should be stigmatized, as you so well explain, but I do think an honest discussion about violence, guns, rage, and entitlement is in order. Sorry, whole other topic, but
Bid did 6 guys jump on 1 guy? What prosecutors charge people with and what actually happens are 2 different things. The first is supposed to be a report on the second, but that's not always so.
Madam.
You bet things like this still goes on in the South.
"When the justice system can be a direct symbol of racism, injustice and terror, the very moral fiber of our society is threatened."
The very moral fiber of our society has DISINTEGRATED at ALL levels.
Why has there been no coverage of this? I really don't need an answer...I already know. I lived in Virginia for 16 years and the thread of racism is deeply ingrained in the fabric of Southern culture. Louisiana is not alone in its ignorance.
How about the horrific story out of West Virginia about the black woman who was held captive by 6 white trash, who stabbed her, sexually assualted her, forced her to eat animal waste, and repeatedly called her a racial slur? I saw one story about this on NBC Nightly News the other night, but nothing in the MSM since then.
Yes, it happened....Just like the white couple massacred by the black thugs in Tennessee.
Totally agree. When I see my southern relatives there are always racial, downright bigoted talk, that goes on at one point or another. If it just using the "n" word or talking about a person of color it always comes up. As I said months ago about a northern truck driver calling a radio station up and telling the DJ that from what he's heard on his CB radio "racisism is very much alive and well" as far as he could tell. He said we would be shocked as he was. I wouldn't be shocked. I've heard it, all my life I've been called the "n" lover from my southern father when we got into argumements about his speech. My dear fundamental Baptist parents would let us know they weren't bigoted because anyone one of those people would be welcomed in their church but don't think you can marry one. They actually said they would rather see me dead. They meant it. That's powerful stuff to say to a child. A childn's death is worse than any to a parent.
Anyway, racism is alive and well, good article. I agree with another poster. Why aren't people speaking out about this? The school had to have known about the unofficial white tree and they should have stopped it years ago. Especially when the black children asked if they could sit under it. The school had in their power right then to try and stop all of what's happened. It's my understanding they didn't go after the white children that started a lot of arguments and fights with the black children but let a white die because of it. OMG.
Where are these white parents? Why didn't they TEACH THEM BETTER?????????? Because they are bigoted as well obviously. These young men will NEVER get a fair trial. God help them.
"Why aren't people speaking out about this?"
If Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton were there, people would be speaking about this because it would be getting media attention.
Ironically enough, however, the minute that either of them addressed this issue, many people here would be complaining about how they are only there for the media attention and to "race-bait" -- they would never acknowledge that it is about JUSTICE, first and foremost.
Just like with Vick, it would be all about black people "defending" other blacks rather than about black people seeking JUSTICE and DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW in the trial proceedings.
Many people complain about black people "playing the race card" but they remain oddly silent when the "race card" is played to the advantage of whites.
Just because your southern family happens to be white trash, that is hardly an indictment of the south.
Believe it or not, there are southern people like myself who have actually attended college, have a professional career, and live and work with minorities every day.
Racism is the product of ignorance. Where you see and educated family, you see intellectualism, not racism.
Fortunately, Black radio nationwide has been on this matter. The foreign press was on it a long time ago. I am hopeful that we will fill up the streets of Jena on September 20, 2007 for the Scottsboro Boys redux.
Of course gentlemen, it would be only half the story to restrict these notions of hate and racism to the south. As long as there was the south to blame, the rest of the nation gets off scott free, as it were.
Yes, and the Southern Poverty Law Center in B'ham, Al is probably all over this too. They do a great job of finding the hate mongers and they follow cases. I think the northern folks and western folks don't see this as THEIR problem and even tho very upset, don't want to express it. They don't understand it is not just the south (tho that history is horrid)who has this type of problem. Try gay, try female, try poor, try homeless, try the mentally ill. But the south I think, beats them all in their ability to close their eyes at hateful injustices. All those kids are culpable and all should be suspended and put to work under guidance. I think madampotential has already said this.
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