The Jena 6 Case is History Written in Lightning

If you don't know who the Jena 6 are, you are not alone. The first I heard about the black high school teens being railroaded through the Louisiana criminal justice system was last week when I received an email urging me to wear black Thursday the 20th in their support.

The first Sean Hannity heard about it was last night when Reverend Al was trying to bring it up and Hannity assumed he was talking about Megan Williams, the young black woman who was tortured and sexually assaulted by those crazy hillbillies in West Virginia. Cryptkeeper Colmes tried to explain but as usual Hannity didn't hear a word he said.

The Jena 6 case began last fall when a new black student to the mostly white, rural Louisiana town of Jena sat under the "white tree," so called because it was the place where the white kids at school congregated.

The next day three white boys on the rodeo team hung three nooses from the tree.

The white boys were only given an in-school suspension, their act deemed no more than a "prank."

The day after that several of the school's black high school football stars organized a peaceful silent protest under the tree. The school freaked, called in the police and the next day Reed Walters, the local D.A., addressed the school. There, he is reported to have looked at the black kids in the audience, waved his pen in the air and said, "With a stroke of this pen, I can make your life disappear."

The football season was a good one for Jena and for a few months there was relative quiet in the town. Then on November 30th, a wing of the high school was burned down. Whites thought it was blacks and the blacks assumed it was the whites.

The always excellent Wade Goodwyn of NPR reported what happened next:

"The next night, 16-year-old Robert Bailey and a few black friends tried to enter a party attended mostly by whites. When Bailey got inside, he was attacked and beaten. The next day, tensions escalated at a local convenience store. Bailey exchanged words with a white student who had been at the party. The white boy ran back to his truck and pulled out a pistol grip shotgun. Bailey ran after him and wrestled him for the gun.

After some scuffling, Bailey and his friends took the gun away and brought it home. Bailey was eventually charged with theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace. The white student who pulled the weapon was not charged at all.

The following Monday, Dec. 4, a white student named Justin Barker was loudly bragging to friends in the school hallway that Robert Bailey had been whipped by a white man on Friday night. When Barker walked into the courtyard, he was attacked by a group of black students. The first punch knocked Barker out and he was kicked several times in the head. But the injuries turned out to be superficial. Barker was examined by doctors and released; he went out to a social function later that evening.

Six black students were arrested and charged with aggravated assault. But District Attorney Reed Walters increased the charges to attempted second-degree murder."

The first black kid to go to court, Mychal Bell, then 16, was tried as an adult and convicted by an all-white jury. He faced 22 years in prison. After an outcry the charges were reduced; however, tomorrow Mychal Bell is to be sentenced on the lesser charges.

The white kids who attacked Bailey the night before have not been charged with anything.

As always happens in these cases, the blacks say of course there has always been racism in this little town, and the whites say their little town is just like any other small town full of good, churchgoing folk.

What white Southerners still fail to realize is their complicity in some of the most vicious and effective terrorism the world has ever seen. Lynchings were only the most visible and brutal embodiments of a system to terrorize the black minority. A noose is a symbol the way a swastika is a symbol. A noose hanging from a tree in that context is an almost unimaginably vicious act. Those white teens, instead of being ashamed of their terrorist ancestry, reveled in the evil. The adults who are charged with the education of all the students deemed it merely a prank.

The scariest part of this ordeal is that you know these boys are the relatively lucky ones for whom publicity might spare them. How many other black lives are still thrown away at the whim of our broken justice system?

Comments

[foolme1ns]

GEORGE BUSH'S US ATTORNEY says no connection between nooses hung from tree and beating of white student!!!! Now there is a big surprise!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six.link/index.html

Still no charges filed against the white boys who beat the black boy.

[colewrite]

I think I am in an altered universe. These kids are in serious jeopardy for their lives and their future. Is there any coverage on this case? No?

What are we covering wall to wall? Whites screaming that they have finally gotten OJ Simpson. Perhaps somebody should tell them that a jury acquitted him.

Nobody seems to be analyzing that the underlying felony requires that OJ steal property that is not his. Everyone seems to concede that the property was stolen from him. What the f!!!? An expert said the property was worth maybe $1500, and this is what gets wall to wall coverage?

Yet a black woman raped and brutalized by 6 whites; and black children being railroaded gets no coverage at all. The real irony is the backdrop that we are at war in Iraq to free the Iraqi people. The 101st needs to be redeployed to the US, to go to Lousiana and free the Jenna 6.

[1will]

The story about the black woman raped and beaten by 6 whites in W.VA is all over the news. The Jena 6 story is on every major news site. How much more coverage do you want?
As for the victim in W.VA, her attackers will grow old in jail. As horrible and unjustified as her attack was it must be remembered that she will get justice. Have you seen anyone rallying around those 6 criminals in West Virginia? No. They sicken everyone, both White and Black.

[Madampotential]

THank you for reporting the complete story! CNN reported just part of the story and focused on the media personalities instead of the pre jim crow justice system.

Schizophrenic ass Chris Matthews lied to his viewers about Jesse Jackson calling Obama white ( Jesse Jackson released a statement that this was not true)and I haven't heard much else on MSM but this is all over black blogs the way OJ is all over white blogs. CNN is going to let Kyra Phillips ( not holding my breath for fair and balanced report) do a special on it.

Thanks for laying it out for me so I can better understand what happened. The boys should be punished for fighting in school like other kids in a school yard fight all over america everyday... but this was excessive punishment... such a long way to go.

[SeaBlood]

Why am I not surprised ! What else would you expect from a high school that actually has a rodeo team ? Those guys don't exactly wear pocket protectors, if you know what I mean. Somehow rodeos and confederate flags go together. Hey assholes! You lost the Civil War ! Get over it .

[TheHandyman]

Great way to boil it down to a succinct anti-southern stereotype accusation! I hope that someday you will get wiser and learn not to paint with such a broad brush. What happened in Jenna is outrageous. The fact that they have a rodeo team is a non-sequiter. They also have a football team. There are other cities in other states that have rodeo teams, does that indicate that they too will have some sort of racial incident? As for the Confederate flag, the South had their heroes who were willing to die for what they believed in just as did the North. As for the flag, a flag has no more power than people are willing to give it. Who are you to deny to others what they want to view as symbolic? Given your knee jerk reaction, rather than a well thought out and informed position on this issue, I also doubt that you could have more than a 2 minute conversation on the Civil War, its causes, its history, the people who fought in it, the major battles, and what the end result was?

You, are part of the problem, not the solution. While you may proclaim that you are against happened in Jenna, you are the same type of person that allows Jenna's to happen. Your belief system is too narrow to be helpful.

[GreatFutureForAll]

So, since I'm German, can I fly a NAZI flag in the south as well? Would that be ok with everyone down there?

After all, "a flag has no more power than people are willing to give it. Who are you to deny to others what they want to view as symbolic?"

I agree. How about flying my flag near a church you attend.

Deal?

[elantiq]

One of the problems which occurred at the original trial was the Mychal Bell had a public defender who called no witnesses, the jury pool was all white and even though he was 16 at the time of the incident, he was tried as an adult. The incident became public on Democracy Now five or six weeks ago and public outrage has focused attention on the original incident as well as the overcharging by the district attorney. A defense fund has been set up for the six boys and any donations toward defraying this cost would be appreciated. Send donations to: The Jena 6 Defense Fund, P.O. Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342. Or go to: http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/action.html?id=1734-174517 for further information or to make an online donation.

[oafishcad]

Someone said this is like we're still in the 60s. They're wrong, it's the 50s. I was a young white man in the 60s and I remember the hope and certainty that the past was gone and we were building a new future without the racism and seperateness that existed before. That was before liberal became a word mocked by Conservatives. I still think we can build a new and better America and for that matter world. But we have to say enough is enough. No there will NOT be seperate rules for different groups in America. Not blacks, not gays, not Asians, not anyone. How long ago was the 14th ammendment passed? It's time we stood up and demanded our Constitution be followed and not trashed. We must demand that all humans be treated as such.

[Independent voter]

I'm not a white southerner, but I have to wonder - if the senate can have a black caucus, why can't the students have a white tree?

[mae692]

I do believe the 'white tree' was the 'only tree' in the school courtyard. The point's moot now because they cut down the tree.

[GreatFutureForAll]

Your question is bogus. Perhaps America's problem is in describing people as Black and White when they are really African and European.

Lets ask your question differently: "If the Senate can have an African-American caucus, why can't the students have an Irish tree?"

There's nothing wrong with either. But, just as the African-American caucus would not tell an Irish senator to "get lost," neither should Irish kids that "own" the tree tell African-American kids to "get movin" or, in this case, hang nooses to get the point across.

Your question shows just how far we have to go in America.

Who needs Al Qaeda! We've got our own terrorists right here!

[Independent voter]

Perhaps you can explain how far we have to go in America.

By what metrics will we know when we have arrived - or come far enough?

Do we really need fat hairy chested men in tiny halter tops serving drinks at Hooters before we can say that we have achieved "equality"?

[Vernondelray]

If the DA (Reed Walters) actually stated "With a stroke of this pen, I can make your life disappear.", he should be removed from office and disbarred immediately. He feels a rush of power in his (presumably large) belly, and enjoys it far too much. He is not a steward of justice for the community of Jena, indeed he empowers injustice with an ignorant remark like that.

[StuCop]

yes it's horrible that 6 whites can get away with beating a black child...just horrible...

[Hoelder]

We are for the most part territorial, especially, young men and like a dog we leave our marks. When I look onto my teenage years, there was the in group female and the male intellectual corner and of course the smoker hall. I see discrimination every where, because it is easier than trying to deal with your fears and prejudice, because we know little of each other. I don't like the existence of "White" trees like I feel by the ownership of any corner of public space by anyone. Violence is lack of communication. Racism is lack of courage. We have too many walls built around us or allowed their unrestricted growth. No juvenile should have to walk the plank as an adult, but this is our tough talking Republican's trademark. It looks sometimes like the kids fight their parents war through generations. Sensitivity training is really hard to convince anybody with in a gun totting culture but that is a start. Don't spent so much time with your church but spend some time with each other.

[NABNYC]

A 16 year old black high school student is sent to prison because of a fist fight, and no one cares.

A white college student is assaulted, tasered and arrested by 4-5 campus police who are trying to stop him from speaking.

Look back on our history and you find that the police system has always been used to attack and brutalize people who speak out against injustice.

I've seen helicopters grazing neighborhoods shooting CS, tear, and peppergas in complete disregard of the rights of the citizens. I've seen local governments refuse permits for a peaceful assembly on ridiculous grounds. I've seen people beaten, kicked, arrested, gassed, shot, and brutalized by police.

Progressives love the constitution, but we should not ignore the fact that it is most often respected in times of peace and prosperity. As soon as things get a little rough, the ruling class brings in the muscle and people start getting their bones broken.

Look at the Palmer raids, Bill Haywood and the IWW, the Pinkertons, Flint Michigan, J. Edgar Hoover in his pink taffeta wiretapping homes of liberals, phony charges of communism-sympathies (which by the way is legal in any event) followed by black lists barring people from working, the civil rights movement and those murdered by goons - who got away with it - the anti-Vietnam war demonstrations and mass arrests, cointelpro, the intentional conspiracy among the highest levels of our government to murder or imprison every leader in the Black Panthers.

And in all these cases a large part of the population was cheering while it happened. As they do today.

[nihilon x]

"A 16 year old black high school student is sent to prison because of a fist fight, and no one cares.

A white college student is assaulted, tasered and arrested by 4-5 campus police who are trying to stop him from speaking.

Look back on our history and you find that the police system has always been used to attack and brutalize people who speak out against injustice."

Yes, but the difference is that now we -- as the public whom they are supposed to protect -- have videocameras and the internet to keep watch over the watchmen.

[anotherbozo]

I heard that the "football stars" ASKED PERMISSION of the administration to sit under the tree and were granted it. (This, I think, from "Democracy Now") But a case in point: Why isn't this abysmal episode all over the news media?? And in great detail? Where are all those heroic "investigative" TV shows? This case is so foul as to need maximum light and air, dammit! Is this 2007? This reads like an ugly racial episode from 1907!
At least I'm glad you're discussing it, Mr. Ellis. Why there aren't more HuffPost bloggers on it, I don't know, however. Where is the ACLU prexy?

[Kansas Evans]

I agree that the news media hasn't covered this as well as it covered th Vick case. (Now do you see why so many people felt there was an over and undue reaction?) But, CNN's covering the rally tomorrow. That's better than nothing.

[Indiana]

Re: "Why isn't this abysmal episode all over the news media?"

Because they'd rather play to the cheap seats by covering O.J. Simpson wall-to-wall.

[Lemeritus]

Robert Kennedy after the death of Martin Luther King:

"In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.

"For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

"We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.

"For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man....

"My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: 'Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.'

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; .... is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black....

"Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world."

Where have our leaders gone? Kennedy's words still inspire. But where is the leader to carry the inspiration forward?

[jackbauer0396]

Wow.. bravo. I've never heard that speech but it's incredible. I'm speechless. Even Barack Obama won't adamantly speak out. Our elected officials need to stop being such cowards. I can only imagine what this country would be like if RFK wasn't assassinated.

[Lemeritus]

Jack, I've always thought this was one of the most remarkable speeches ever delivered because, I understand, it was completely unprepared -- as you might imagine. Because of HuffPo's word limit, I had to edit it (and I hope I haven't done it an injustice). I can't imagine any politician today -- with their focus groups and strategists -- coming close to touching these chords.

Most of the speech is available at this site:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rfkonmlkdeath.html

Sadly the video is followed by footage of Bobby's assassination. We are the worst for it.

[GreatFutureForAll]

"Even Barack Obama won't adamantly speak out."

WRONG! Obama, Thursday of last week:

"When nooses are being hung in high schools in the 21st century, it's a tragedy. It shows that we still have a lot of work to do as a nation to heal our racial tensions. This isn't just Jena's problem; it's America's problem."

"There are a number of signs that the system is not working in this case. It's a problem when criminal charges are brought against some students for fighting, but not others. It's a problem when a public defender doesn't call any witnesses. And it's a problem when a prosecutor decides to try teenagers as adults for a school fight, a charge that could leave them in jail for the majority of their lives. That is why I join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in calling on the judge to consider all the relevant factors and calling on the District Attorney to drop the excessive charges brought in this case. And I, along with other members of the CBC, will continue to monitor this case closely."

"Going forward, we have to fix our criminal justice system. Whether it's Jena 6 or Genarlow Wilson, it's long past time for us to admit that we have more work to do to ensure that our criminal justice system is fair. We must ensure that both victims and defendants can receive equal justice under the law, regardless of race, wealth, or other circumstances."

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48732084_louisiana_barack_obama_demands_fairness_jena_6_case

This is the second or third time Obama has loudly spoken out about overt racism within the criminal justice system. Each time, he's pointed to specific examples of injustice currently in our court system.

[ADunafraid]

It hurts your point when you mention Mychal Bell. In the year before that incident he had 4 violent priors that could be a reason he was charged as an adult and given such a harsh sentence. Other than that I am outraged.

[1will]

Do you have a link to the story containing his priors?

[paul195]

I'll take responsibility for slavery, which I wasnt alive for, as soon as Al Sharpton gives my family a ARM.

As I see it, great grandpa walked out of ellis island after the trip from ireland, was given a Tax ID, union uniform and gun and sent south.

So spare me the "you whites"

Unless I can judge you for Colin Ferguson, or Tookie Williams?