it though. Here are some links:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220The origins of the story can be traced back to early September when a black high school student requested permission to sit under a tree in the schoolyard where usually only white students sat. The next day three nooses were found hanging from the tree.
Democracy Now! correspondent Jacquie Soohen has more on the story from Jena.
* Report on the Jena Six by Jacquie Soohen, from an upcoming feature documentary by Big Noise Films.
Jena 6 Defense Committee
PO BOX 2798
Jena, LA 71342
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_SixStudents of different races in Jena High School rarely sat together. Black students sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large shade tree, referred to as the "white tree," in the center of the school courtyard.<1>
During a school assembly on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman at Jena High School, asked permission from the principal to sit in the shade of the "white tree."<2> According to the recounting of events given by U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, the question was posed in a "jocular fashion."<3> The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted."<2>
The following morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. Anthony Jackson, one of two black teachers at the high school, recalled, "I jokingly said to another teacher, 'One's for you, one's for me. Who's the other one for?'" Jena's principal learned that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The board of education overruled his recommendation, to which Superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed. The punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.<1><4> The school superintendent was quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat to anybody."
Black residents of Jena claim that this decision stoked racial tensions that led to subsequent events.<4> The school district and parents who were aware of the incident did not report it to the police or any legal authority, though such incidents may be prosecuted as federal hate crimes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.<3><snip>
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Free The Jena Six Now
I've been in my share of fights. It's something that happens when you're a young racially ambiguous kid thrust into the public school system in Washington D.C. A few of them I still have scars from.
The most consistent theme in my many trips to the Principal's office is the fact that this answer, given by the parents of the white student who was allegedly beaten by six young black men (One of whom, Mychal Bell, has already been convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy and faces possibly 22 years in prison.) who are now charged with attempt to commit second degree murder and conspiracy, would never, ever fly. And that's not just because my middle school Principal was like Shaft in retirement. From a July 1st segment on CNN:
KELLI BARKER, VICTIM'S MOTHER: He was getting kicked and stomped.
ROESGEN: Why?
BARKER: I don't know. You tell me.
ROESGEN: For the first time, the parents of Justin Barker, the victim, agreed to be interviewed exclusively by CNN.
BARKER: Several lacerations on both sides. Both the ears was kind of really damaged. And both the eyes. His right eye was the worst. It had blood clots in it.
ROESGEN: Kelly and David Barker say Justin has no idea why he was attacked. But his injuries have cost $12,000 in medical bills and his parents do believe it was a case of attempted murder.
The answer "I don't know" is simply dishonest, but shrewd, since it relies on the racism of the listener to fill in the blanks. "I don't know" is reason enough for black people to become violent, because that after all, is our nature.
CNN tells the story of the Jena Six thustly:
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Reporters are not welcome these days at Jena High School where racial tension has led to charges of attempted murder. Back in September, black students sat under this tree in the school courtyard, where traditionally only white students sit. The next day, three white students hung nooses from the tree and were suspended. What the nooses meant divided the town.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a couple boys made a mistake, you know, but I, you know, I think it's all being blown out of proportion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very offended because that's a racial slur against us.
ROESGEN: From there, things got worse. In November, someone set fire to the school, destroying one of its main buildings. Though police don't know if there's a connection to the nooses. Then in December, a school fight. A white student, Justin Barker, was knocked unconscious and kicked as he lay on the ground. Six black teenagers were accused of beating him.<snip>
http://jackandjillpolitics.blogspot.com/2007/07/free-jena-six-now.html
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