Students who support 'Jena 6,' will join in Louisiana
ATLANTA --About 200 students marched from the Atlanta University Center campus to Centennial Olympic Park on Tuesday in support of the six black high-school students accused of attacking a white student in Jena, La.
The crowd of young people, mostly from Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University, held signs reading, "Stop the racist prosecution of the Jena 6," and chanted slogans like, "Until the Six are free, neither are we!"
Racial tensions at Jena High School became public when white students hung three nooses from a tree after a black student asked during assembly if black students could join the white students who gathered under its shade. Reports of racial fights and confrontations at the school followed, culminating in the December attack on Justin Barker.
On Thursday, between 5,000 and 40,000 people are expected to descend on the central Louisiana town of about 2,900 in support of Mychal Bell, whose conviction on an aggravated second-degree battery charge was overturned Friday, and five others not yet tried. Many are coming to protest what they consider excessive charges and bond for the youths.
Morehouse sophomore Koree Hood said that he was especially affected by the case as a young, black male.
"They represent us," Hood said as he marched towards the park. "We see an injustice in Jena, La. It's gone on for too long, and very few people knew it was happening today."
Hood said he is planning to join a bus caravan leaving from Atlanta on Wednesday.
Reginald McKinley, a senior at Morehouse and one of the organizers of Tuesday's rally in Atlanta, said it's important for young people to show up in Louisiana.
"We're here to make sure our voices are heard and to make sure they see support from their peers," McKinley said.
Tammy Timbers, a senior at Spelman College, said she first read about the case a month ago in the New York Times. The political science major said she immediately saw it as a violation of the 14th Amendment.
"Things like this happen all the time," Timbers said. "Jena Six is just getting a lot of publicity."
Also in Atlanta this week, the city council on Monday unanimously passed a resolution in support of the six young men.
And the Southern Christian Leadership Conference announced that the group will take buses to Jena and establish a temporary conflict resolution center there.
"People need an alternative to violence," SCLC President Charles Steele said on Tuesday. "That's the culture of Jena because of a lack of exposure, they don't know a better way. We're going to work with the local leadership there to provide (nonviolence) training."
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****What Can I Do To Help****
**LATEST JENA 6 NEWS YOU CAN STILL HELP** Many ask how can they help with the Jena 6 case I have put together some ways you can help..it's the latest news and ways you can help stop the racism..We need you to stand up!! Even $5.00 Will Help!!Donate online to the: Jena 6 Defense Fund or mail donations to. Jena 6 Defense Committee, P. O. Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342 Advocate in your community: Mobilize your community and local government to have a voice and unite on equality within the United States criminal justice system.Send a letter to the Louisiana Governor and the Louisiana Attorney General: Urge your local officials to investigate this matter to ensure that these young men’s constitutional rights are safeguarded.Register to vote: Make your vote count.Join the NAACP: Become a member of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization and help make a difference.DONATE HERE IT'S FAST AND SECURE PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!! PLEASE HELP!! PLEASE HELP EVEN $1 DOLLAR ADD'S UP!!
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Jena Defence
Louisiana Earns Dubious Distinction
Louisiana incarcerates more of its residents than any other state in the nation. Here are the top three:
1. Louisiana (791)
2. Texas (691)
3. Mississippi (660)
Lowest three states:
1. Maine (144)
2. Minnesota (180)
3. Rhode Island (189)
(Note: The national average incarceration rate is 491 per 100,000 residents.)
What Is The Jena 6
A little background for those that do not know, the Jena 6 are six Black students who face the possibility of going to prison for very long time, all because of a schoolyard fight. Almost a year ago, in the small town of Jena, Louisiana a group of Black students sat under a “whites-only” tree in the schoolyard. Yes they still have them.
Apparently, this upset some of the white students so much that the next day they put up nooses hanging from the tree. Soon after the nooses were hung, most of the 93 Black students (out of a total student enrollment of 546) at Jena High School stood together under the tree, in a courageous act of protest.
It wasn't long after this that a a school assembly was called, where a white district attorney told the Black students to just keep their mouths shut about the nooses. He told them if he heard anything else about it, he “can make their lives go away with the stroke of his pen.”
This eventually led to a fight that sent one white student to the hospital and six Black students to jail and that’s when all the comotion and eventual hell broke loose.
The Jena 6 are Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor. All were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high starting at $70,000 and going as high as$138,000 that the they were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.
Here at Jena-6 .blogspot we will devote this entire site to the Jena 6 story. It is said to be covered by Oprah soon, only time will tell. We will keep you up to date on that as well.
Apparently, this upset some of the white students so much that the next day they put up nooses hanging from the tree. Soon after the nooses were hung, most of the 93 Black students (out of a total student enrollment of 546) at Jena High School stood together under the tree, in a courageous act of protest.
It wasn't long after this that a a school assembly was called, where a white district attorney told the Black students to just keep their mouths shut about the nooses. He told them if he heard anything else about it, he “can make their lives go away with the stroke of his pen.”
This eventually led to a fight that sent one white student to the hospital and six Black students to jail and that’s when all the comotion and eventual hell broke loose.
The Jena 6 are Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor. All were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high starting at $70,000 and going as high as$138,000 that the they were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.
Here at Jena-6 .blogspot we will devote this entire site to the Jena 6 story. It is said to be covered by Oprah soon, only time will tell. We will keep you up to date on that as well.
Jena 6 Race Factor
Jena 6 Videos
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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