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The Case of the Jena Six: Black High School Students
Charged with Attempted Murder for Schoolyard Fight
After Nooses Are Hung from Tree
August 8, 2007
A few weeks ago, ColorOfChange launched a campaign to
bring visibility to the case of the Jena 6--six young
black men in Jena, LA set to face more than 20 years in
prison for their alleged role in a schoolyard fight.
We're already making a difference, but we could still
really use your help.
Last Tuesday, over 300 people from across the country
descended on Jena: we rallied in front of the
courthouse, marched through downtown Jena, and cut
through a line of sheriffs to hand-deliver petitions
from more than 43,000 ColorOfChange.org members to the
District Attorney's office.
It was quite a moment. The families were beaming
because they knew that we had their backs. And, from
the looks on their faces, it was clear that the
authorities hadn't anticipated such a growing and
powerful force. We've also gotten the attention of
Governor Blanco, who finally started sending responses
to the over 50,000 emails ColorOfChange.org members
sent to her office. And, together, we've raised more
than $55,000 for the legal defense of the Jena 6.
But we've got a ways to go. At this point it's key to
keep pressure on the Governor by continuing the emails,
and we're planning a bigger event in mid-to-late
September. You can add your voice (and find out more
ways you can help) by clicking below:
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2020-52936
<i>Here's the rest of the story, as we told it a few weeks back:</i>
Last fall in Jena, Louisiana, the day 'after two Black
high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on
their campus, nooses were hung from the tree "When the
superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more
Black students sat under the tree in protest. The
District Attorney then came to the school accompanied
by the town's police and demanded that the students end
their protest, telling them,'"I can be your best friend
or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with
a stroke of my pen."(1)
A series of white-on-black incidents of violence
followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white
student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA
responded by charging six black students with attempted
murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era,
when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the
justice system to keep blacks in "their place"--but
it's happening today. The families of these young men
are fighting back, but the odds are stacked against
them. Together, we can make sure their story is told,
that this becomes an issue for the Governor of
Louisiana, and that justice is provided for the Jena 6.
It starts now. Please add your voice:
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2220-141925
The noose-hanging incident and the DA's visit to the
school set the stage for everything that followed.
Racial tension escalated over the next couple of
months, and on November 30, the main academic building
of Jena High School was burned down in an unsolved
fire. Later the same weekend, a black student was
beaten up by white students at a party. The next day,
black students at a convenience store were threatened
by a young white man with a shotgun. They wrestled the
gun from him and ran away. While no charges were filed
against the white man, the students were arrested for
the theft of the gun.(2)
That Monday at school, a white student, who had been a
vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses,
taunted the black student who was beaten up at the off-
campus party and allegedly called several black
students "nigger." After lunch, he was knocked down,
punched and kicked by black students. He was taken to
the hospital but was released and was well enough to go
to a social event that evening.(3)
Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo
Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17),
Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were
expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-
degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high --
between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left
in prison for months as families went deep into debt to
release them.(4)
The first trial ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who
has been in prison since December, was convicted of
aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated
battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial
where his public defender called no witnesses. During
his trial, Mychal's parents were ordered not to speak
to the media and the court prohibited protests from
taking place near the courtroom or where the judge
could see them.
Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and
could go to jail for 22 years.(5) Theo Shaw's trial is
next. He will finally make bail this week.
The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones
who are fighting tooth and nail to free them. They have
been threatened but they are standing strong. We know
that if the families have to go it alone, their sons
will be a long time coming home. They will lose
precious years to Jena's outrageous attempt to maintain
a racist status quo.
But if we act now, we can make a difference.
Please add your voice to the voices of these families
in Jena, and help bring Mychal, Theo, Robert, Carwin,
and Bryant home. By clicking below, you can demand that
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make
sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that
DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who
have not yet gone to trial.
Thank You and Peace,
-- James, Van, Gabriel, Clarissa, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 17th, 2007
References:
1. "Injustice in Jena as Nooses Hang From the 'White
Tree,'" truthout, July 3, 2007
<http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070307B.shtml>
2. "Racial demons rear heads," Chicago Tribune, May 20,
2007
<http://tinyurl.com/yvh7t5>
3. See reference #1.
4. See reference #1.
5. "'Jena Six' defendant convicted," Town Talk, June
29, 2007
<http://tinyurl.com/ysxtgg>
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Other resources:
* NPR: Searching for Justice in Jena 6 Case (streaming
audio)
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11756302>
* Democracy Now! - The case of the Jena Six ...
<http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220>
* Too Sense: Free The Jena Six Now
<http://halfricanrevolution.blogspot.com/2007/07/free-jena-six-now.html>
* While Seated: Jena Six
<http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml>
* Nooses, attacks and jail for black students in Jena
Louisiana
<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/28/144445/384>
* Justice In Jena, by Jordan Flaherty
<http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=12783§ionID=30>
* The Perpetrator becomes the Prosecutor (and other
related entries)
<http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/blog/>
* 'Stealth racism' stalks deep South
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6685441.stm>
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