NAACP petition seeks justice for Jena 6
Facing South contributor Bill Quigley recently brought us the shocking story of a group of African-American teens who are facing harsh criminal penalties for lashing out against racist terrorism in Jena, La.
The trouble began last December when white students hung three nooses from a tree where Jena High School's white students gathered after several blacks dared to sit under it. The white students who hung the nooses received only a three-day suspension, which led to an escalation of racial tensions at the school. After a white student allegedly taunted blacks with the "N" word, he was beaten up by black students, six of whom were arrested.
One of those arrested -- 16-year-old Mychal Bell -- was convicted as an adult by an all-white jury of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery for his role in the beating. Bell's public defender called no witnesses and failed to challenge the makeup of the jury pool. With his sentencing set for July 31, Bell faces the possibility of up to 22 years in prison.
The NAACP, which is involved in Bell's defense, is now collecting signatures on a petition to Louisiana's governor and attorney general calling for a new trial for Bell and justice for the six arrested teens. To add your name to it, click here.
The trouble began last December when white students hung three nooses from a tree where Jena High School's white students gathered after several blacks dared to sit under it. The white students who hung the nooses received only a three-day suspension, which led to an escalation of racial tensions at the school. After a white student allegedly taunted blacks with the "N" word, he was beaten up by black students, six of whom were arrested.
One of those arrested -- 16-year-old Mychal Bell -- was convicted as an adult by an all-white jury of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery for his role in the beating. Bell's public defender called no witnesses and failed to challenge the makeup of the jury pool. With his sentencing set for July 31, Bell faces the possibility of up to 22 years in prison.
The NAACP, which is involved in Bell's defense, is now collecting signatures on a petition to Louisiana's governor and attorney general calling for a new trial for Bell and justice for the six arrested teens. To add your name to it, click here.
Labels: criminal justice, louisiana, race and racism
20 Comments:
Agreeably, the white kids shouldn't have hung nooses on the tree in order to prove a point or whatever they were doing. On the other hand, the 6 black boys who acted as a gang and severely beat up on the one lone white, actually carried the issue farther than it needed to be. Where is the right in either side, especially in a gang beating? Intimidation or forced reverse descrimination may have played roles in the white youths wrongfull actions. We haven't heard the whole story surrounding this issue. The school punished the first wrongdoers, as the courts must punnish the others for their obvious crimes. The one who was sentenced the harshest, either started the violence, did the most damage or has had a previous record for a violent assault crime.
The NAACP doesn't care about the particulars or especially the rights or the life of the white youth involved. Or any whites for that matter. They are going to use there own form of threats and intimidation to force the court to reverse its decision, therefor proving my point on the reverse descrimination.
Should the white youths have been given a longer suspension from school? It all depends on the particulars of what had transpired beforehand. If the situation was reversed and there had been a gang of 6 white kids who'd beeten a black one within an inch of his life, the NAACP would be pushing for a harsher sentence for ALL the whites kids involved, no matter what the cicumstances.
If we are going to truly co-exhist, we have to treat each other as equals, both morally and legally. For anyone to say that he was convicted so harshly because it was an all white jury, is an afront to whites, insinuating that a group of whites are dishonest thus it was a dishonest verdict. We don't know his past record or exactly what took place leading up to the criminal beating.
aaah precious ignorance from our tdb!!
Let's continue to fight for justice in this world and put an end to racial animosity and hatred . . . FREE THE JENA 6 NOW!!
If those were white kids facing the 22 years the NAACP would say good for them. I think black people are to comfortable with this little bit of freedom we have. We are complacent. In Smyrna, GA. the police ride around with confederate flags on their cars and not even 20 years ago they were flying it on the Georgia dome. You know what the white people call it?...History. They are dragging black people by there feet in Texas, not even five years ago a couple of black kids were hung in the park in Atlanta and in Louisiana they are calling black students niggers and hanging nooses off trees because some black kids want to sit under some tree at a PUBLIC school. You know what the whole world calls it?.....News. You know what some black people are doing with the information?....Trying to get both sides of the story? There is one side and it involves nooses and niggers from whites in a threatening manner. When did white people start being unbiased when it involves race relations.
Where is justice? I too am wondering about the full scope of this issue as it has not been publicized.
I am going on the notion that this is an accurate account of what happened. That said, I am not surprised (sadly) that the nooses were hung and racial tensions are high. However, I am deeply dismayed that the legal system and school board acted much like it did prior to and following The Brown Board of Education case in 1954.
tdb: you do not mention the gang beating of the black kid that happened after the noose hanging and the point of nooses is clear: we will lynch you if you sit under our "whites only shade tree". The white kids are the instigators and the law laughs off their beatings and other acts of violence against teenagers towards blacks. It is clear who started it: a football player whose parents pay taxes and wanted to sit at the picnic table on a hot summer day and the white boys wanted to lynch him for it.
The kid was not beaten to "one inch of his life". One punch knocked him out. He suffered a few cuts and bruises and went to a party that night. People who are beaten to inches of their lives lay in hospital beds to recover.
anon: do a google news search for "Jena 6", some papers have publized the story; Yout Tube video available on NBC broadcast on the case. Elsewhere, I got to read the transcript of the charges. The city attorney told the boys who protested if they did not stop complaining about their mistreatment in regards to the "Whites Only" tree he could "ruin their lives with the stroke of a pen" and with the help of his teen cohorts that is exactly what he is trying to do.
This is not an isolated incident, nor is it only happening in deep south. I hope that town that does not want the media attention gets flooded with protest letters and many visitors on September 20, 2007. That day could become a new historical moment in the fight for Civil Rights if enough people take action. NOW!
Those boys were screwed the min the got arrested for 2 reasons 1 because of thir skin color and 2 because they were in the south. I think the kid who got beat up got what was comeing to him, but then again they were just words,and 2 wrongs dont make a right,And everyone in the south wonders why people call us backwoods rednecks because of crap like this. Just to let people know im from the south born and raised in Alabama.I makes me sick to see kids get railroaded because the were black in a white school....
It really saddens me to think that in this time and era that there are still people in this world who are still racists and that they teach it to their children. I can't beleive that the school allowed them to hang nooses on the tree and then brush it under thr rug or with a slap on the back and for the black people in this town it is a slap in the face.
I'm glad that finally someone is standing up to these little backwood towns and letting them know that we as black people are not going to stand for that kind of injustice anymore. The whites only tree should have never been allowed to be labeled that anyway being that is a public school.It should have been cut down along time ago. What would have happened had the scenario been reversed? Those white kids would have been out of jail already.The justice system is a joke.My prayers go out to the families of these children.Since when is a shoe a deadly weapon.they are coming up with some really dumb excuses.Anything to keep another black man down.
http://www.minglecity.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=140
You can find info on buses leaving from your area for the protest on Sept 20. Micheal Baisdon will be holding a live broadcast from the court house steps at 8:00 many celebrities as well as people from all over the country will be there. the above is a link to the Micheal Baisdon website. Free The Jena 6
it is hard to believe that this is happening in the country that sends troops all over the world to give democracy and justice to others. Americans start in your own backyard. when you have given justice and equality to your citezens, then others will look at you as a world leader. i do hope to see all the freedom loving white americans standing hand in hand with the freedom asd justce seeking black americans, wouldn't that be a nice sight for the rest of the world to see. AS i read and hear of the Jena six , I remember the first time I read the speach of Haile Salassie " untill the color of a man skin is of no more significant than the color of his eyes there will be war. " The Jena six represent america's war. if you don't stop it you will distroy yourself american. don't worry about Arabs distroying you , you are doing a grat job all by yourself.
it is shocking that this racial issue is going on and on. This is an incident that the school should have handled. It was improper for the white boys to hang nooses, they should be expelled. Carrying guns, this is reason for expelling them...the south needs to grow and realize times have changed and left them behind.
We are fighting a war, with black and whites standing side by side for our country, send those white boys to the army to learn something their parents have not taught them! Jail is not an answer for anyone..
Where is Jesse Jackson now?
Where is Obama he wants to fix the country, start with the Jena 6,?
Why is there almost no coverage on the Jena 6, by the mainstream news media?
Will the NAACP call for a protest march? I would like to be there.
The prosecutor for the Duke lacrosse team was disbarred, and ultimately jailed this prosecutor should have the same punishment. Maybe prosecutors across the country would realize that their behavior will no longer be tolerated.
How many years? How many tears? How much blood? How many lives, will it take for us to get peace? I am 27 years of age and never witnessed anything like this before in my life, next to Katrina. As a Young Black Man I would not want to live in that state. Hate to say that, you think in the year 2007, we would have the right to live FREE anywhere, I guess like they say, there is a price for everything. Our tears, years, blood and lives.
What is baffling to me it that students who make threats about brining guns or knives to school are taken very seriously because nobody wants to relive Columbine. However, when nooses are made and hung in a tree at school it’s a, “youthful stunt.”
We have to stand together or we will fall for anything! Where are all the BLACK leaders now and why are they not coming to these families defense? I feel like every few months someone dose or says something that sets us back 300 years. At this rate we will be back on plantations and working in fields if we leave it up to the WHITE peolpe! Keep us down way down so far down we cant get up! say it loud we BLACK and we PROUD and we MAD ass HELL and we aint taking it no more! Lets ALL help!
I am a white man who in 1986 was convicted in La. of a sexual assault charge that I did not commit. I had a public defender who told me that I should be thankful that I was getting a 20 year sentence rather than a Life sentence. After seven years in LSP I went before the parole board. The convicts told me to admit to the parole board my guilt and they would let me go home. I did, and they didn't. I served 10 years, was released on "good time" and served 10 yrs on parole. I now know that La. warehouses prisoners to run a multi-million dollar illegal enterprise. This enterprise needs young strong bodies, black or white. Bodies equal money to these Edwin Edwards students...aka Wardens (and associates). PS: The only good thing about having a public defender in La. is that the transcripts will be full of reversible error, unless a plea bargain was accepted.
Dear TDB,
You are soooooooo ignorant it's hard to believe. You can post a comment like that and then only use your initials. Be real about it like I am and post your full name. Coward. Anyway free the Jena 6. Those white kids should be puinished. They had NO right to hang nooses under a tree. Does this mean that their parents are teaching them to hate blacks? I'm a 26 year old black female and I have nothing against white people, I have alot of white friends. But the point is when your wrong your wrong NO matter what your color. The same way the white boys were suspended, the same punishment should have applied to the black boys not jail time, that is ridulous. In any other school when kids get into a fight they usually get suspended. If I'm wrong please tell me. That 16 year old boy should not receive any jail time period and neither should the other 5. If I was in the same situation I would have done the same thing. I also teach my 5 year old daughter the same thing. No matter what the color you don't let anyone degrade you and make you feel low. TDB you must be white to say a statement like you did. I feel so sorry for you it is such a shame. You don't have any common sense or knowledge for that matter to say what you said. You must have grew up in a broken up family with NO LOVE or morals. If you don't mind me asking how old are you? This matters because it would let me know what kind of level you think on. The white boy obviously wasn't beaten up that bad because when he was release from the hospital he went to a party, my guess is to probably celebrate what they're trying to do to the Jena 6 boys. He is the one that needs to be punished and taught a lesson. What is the world coming to. How do you place a black boy in court with an all white jury? Where is the justice. How dare you say that we don't know the whole story and what if the black boy had a criminal record. Are you stupid? Seriously, I want you to answer? Anyway your comment proves my point that you are ignorant because you can't even spell correctly. Get an education first before you publicly speak your mind. Free the Jena 6 boys. There is NO justice in this case. They have my full support.
If 6 white students beat one black student no matter what was going on the NAACP would STILL be there pressing the issue untill these white students got life sentences. Black people talk about how unfair everything is. I was jumped by 5 black kids in highschool. Because I defended myself I also got suspened with them. If me and 5 and 5 of my white friends were to jump one black person to nearly death, we would go to jail for a VERY long time. Because the NAACP would be there cheering it on. When black people do it, they say they don't deserve it. Would white people deserve it? Of course they would, because it would be different then wouldn't it? Racism is every where. I live outside of detroit, when I go into black neighborhoods I get racist comments all the time. They ask me what i'm even doing there. Sounds pretty racist to me huh? Black people are just as or MORE racist then white people. It's just we can't complain about it. When is this going to end. Why don't white people actually stick up for themselves anymore? Anytime anything happens to a black person its because they are black. Not because they did something wrong. If 5 of anyone beat a one of anything they did something wrong. They should pay the price. 30 years yeah that may be to long. But I know damn well if 5 white kids were to beat 1 black kid they would be in prison. Face it.
I just learned of this story and have a few questions:
1. how long before the fight did the noose incident occur, and is it clear that the noose incident was the motivation for the fight?
2. was the white kid attacked by "the six" involved in the noose incident?
3. is it true that both blacks and whites were summoned for jury duty, but only whites appeared?
Thanks in advance,
JKW
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