God Bless…

My heart continues to reach out to all of those affected by the “Jena Six” case. Courtesy of Michael David Murphy, a glimpse into the lives of all sides is seen….

The Jena Six

As much as we want to ignore it, racial inequality still exists today. For example, the Jena Six is a prime example of just how bad a little thing can get. The story proves that racial tensions still remain high despite many advances in civil rights.

Six high school students (all African American) were charged with second-degree murder after a physical altercation with a white student. The events leading up to the fight have sparked an outcry in the African American community that the arrests were racially motivate.

The story starts in Jena, Louisiana at a local high school. Like many other schools across the nation Jena High School is segregated. Not the Jim Crow segregation, but segregation by choice. While everyone attends the same classes, at lunch the students usually sit with members of their own race. The white students would sit under a large tree known as the “white tree”, while African American student populated the bleachers.

One day an African American student asked a faculty member if he could sit under the “white tree” and the person said that it was a free country and he could sit wherever he chose. The next day, there were three nooses hanging from the “white tree.” The students responsible for the “prank” were originally recommended an expulsion, but it was later reduced to a three day in school suspension (the same penalty a local kid received for making an opposing team hold up “we suck” signs during a high school football game). The racial tensions grew in the school and in November of 2006 the school was set on fire and no one is sure how it started. The next day there was a fight between African Americans students and whites that reportedly include a white male pulling out a gun on an African American student. The culmination of these events was an physical altercation between one white student, and six African American student (the Jena Six). The young men were charged with second-degree aggravate murder after initially being charged with aggravated assault. The victim of the attack did survive.

Why do these things still happen? It seems that any little incident can spark racial tensions in America today (i.e. the Seinfeld guy, O.J. Simpson trial, Hurricane Katrina) yet we still ignore that the problem exists. As for the Jena Six they were wrong in assaulting another student, however, what about the events that led to the incident? Why can racial pranks go on unchecked by the school administration (or public in general)? People laugh at shows like the Mind of Mencia or the Dave Chapelle, but they are really part of the problem. These type of issues are not funny and we must do something before things get really bad….

For a recent press release from the Afrosphere blog about the Jena Six click here…