Last Saturday night, local supporters of the internationally-known Jena 6 -- six young black men facing dozens of years in prison for a school yard beat-down of a white antagonist in the hamlet of Jena -- held a fundraiser and rally for the young men, whose initial court-appointed defense lawyers have been replaced with higher-caliber legal representation.
Their case is becoming a focus for activists concerned about racial justice in Louisiana. It's now a lightning rod for global criticism of the racial situation in the United States, attracting bogeyman-to-whites Al Sharpton (do any of the whites who believe that Sharpton is only exploiting the situation for personal gain understand that history is on his side?) and perrenial photo-op visitor to New Orleans Jesse Jackson (whose calls for racial unity are falling on the deaf ears of Jena whites in denial, who claim, of course, that they are not racist, therefore there are no racial problems in Jena; a white bus driver who spoke to one reporter said, "No, no no. It's not [racism]" ).
Perceptions, informed by history, are one of the foundations of racism in America. When a white person, particularly a white person in a position of power, does something to offend a black person, whites can't be surprised when that black person questions the white's motives. Racism does exist here, and denying this only makes racial prejudice harder to disembed.
Prosecutors in Jena postponed the sentencing of the convicted Mychal Bell, the first of the 6 to go to trial, in order to avoid publicity. This half-baked strategy has guaranteed that the sentencing, now scheduled for September 20, will be heavily attended. Postponement has only allowed activists to spread the word on the perceived injustice in Jena, and the more the word spreads, the more attention will be paid to the good people of Jena, and their tolerance of injustice in their midst.
1. All of this is such an 'In-Your-Face' example of the entire nation's perception of what white america (note the lower case letter)feels is right and who are truly exempt from being held accountable of their actions. Sad, but true. White america should not allow these types of actions and interactions to still exists in america... this is an example of actions of ignorance and an inability to create a truly fair society. I no longer question why white folks are often called DEVILS.
This is degrading to whites even more so than to blacks or any other race. With a civil war in these times... the ones with the true power are the ones that feel that they have been civicly mistreated.
Posted at 2:22AM on Sep 13th 2007 by yogi