Charles Rey writes:
“Bell, a black high school student, faces up to 22 years in prison for a schoolyard fight initiated by white students, who hung three nooses in a tree at the high school courtyard, to warn black students not to sit there. Despite this act of terrorism, black students sat under the tree in solidarity and protest against the hate crime. The DA was called onto the campus to warn the black students that he could take their life away with the “stroke of a pen”.
“The faculty also dismissed the terrorist threat as a “prank”. Several fights ensued in the following days. During one of the fights, a white student was mildly injured. On that day, Six black students, the Jena 6, were arrested. They now face a lifetime in prison.
“300 people rallied in Jena on 7/31/07 to mobilize, protest, and pressure public officials in favor of the Jena 6. Citizens came from as far as California to show their support, leadership, and commitment to correct this educational and governmental act of terror.
“45,000 people have signed a petition ordering DA Reed Walters to drop the charges.
“On another note, the school board chopped down the tree.”
Go to www.colorofchange.org for up-to-date coverage and ways to help.
Here are just a couple of links to some of the news stories:
Peace, dwight
Thanks for posting on this, Dwight. I heard the story on NPR and was literally shaking as it went on. Hopefully this can help.
This is a lost, false angle you are pursuing, and for shame. Regardless of the circumstances leading up to an act of violence, the legal angle is principally this: at one point, at least six people were alternately stomping on the face and body of one man. That is criminal–hence the pending prison sentences. You may protest the crass nature of the provocation to your heart’s content, but provocation never justifies outrageous and illegal acts of violence. In fact, they are lucky to have avoided hate crime enhancements. The victim was indeed lucky to have avoided the ugly fate that awaited Christopher Kime on the streets of Seattle, under even less noble circumstances.