The Jena 6: Is racism just a "Southern problem"?
Haley Swenson
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: News/Features
On Sept. 20, people around the United States spoke out against prosecutorial injustices in Jena, La., which left six black high school students in jeopardy of spending their adult years in prison for attacking a white student amid a month of intense racial conflict. The conflict erupted when three white students hung nooses from a tree at Jena High School after a group of black students sat under a tree generally occupied by white students the day before. The nooses offset a series of violent conflicts between students in Jena, including an attack in which six black students attacked a white student, Justin Barker. The students guilty of hanging the nooses were eventually punished with a mere three-day, in-school suspension. The black students, now known as the "Jena 6," faced an onslaught of incredibly harsh charges, as the district attorney believed their crime qualified as attempted murder. The media finally descended into Jena to cover the massive protest organized there on Sept. 20, but the news coverage has diverted attention away from the real problems Jena demonstrates
I first heard about the events in Jena last spring from a Facebook group raising awareness about the racial tensions and resultant legal actions, which appeared completely excessive and biased against the black students involved. I checked the group regularly for updates but heard little about the issue from any of the news sources I checked regularly, including many "progressive" sources online, until around July when I finally heard a story on National Public Radio, titled "Searching for justice in Jena 6 case."
News about the goings-on in Jena began to trickle into mainstream discourse throughout the latter half of the summer. Still, even on Sept. 18, National Public Radio's Geoffrey Bennett, noted that in a Google News Search, the words "Jena 6" returned only 410 stories from publications included in Google's base of sources, while stories about O.J. Simpson's Las Vegas arrest, which had only occurred two days prior to the search, revealed 9,484 news stories.
I first heard about the events in Jena last spring from a Facebook group raising awareness about the racial tensions and resultant legal actions, which appeared completely excessive and biased against the black students involved. I checked the group regularly for updates but heard little about the issue from any of the news sources I checked regularly, including many "progressive" sources online, until around July when I finally heard a story on National Public Radio, titled "Searching for justice in Jena 6 case."
News about the goings-on in Jena began to trickle into mainstream discourse throughout the latter half of the summer. Still, even on Sept. 18, National Public Radio's Geoffrey Bennett, noted that in a Google News Search, the words "Jena 6" returned only 410 stories from publications included in Google's base of sources, while stories about O.J. Simpson's Las Vegas arrest, which had only occurred two days prior to the search, revealed 9,484 news stories.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Abby
posted 10/02/07 @ 8:57 PM CST
I think that this is unfair . If they were charged against second degree murder, how did he go to a school production that same night. And hanging nooses in a tree and not being criminally prosecuted, I dont now did they think it was i joke i dont find it funny at all. (Continued…)
amanda
posted 10/04/07 @ 1:12 PM CST
hey my names amanda nd im 1 5years old... i am ot black but puerto rican and think that the white ppl should be pinished more severly not tthe black i think its unacceptabul i9 relly think this shoild stop but the stupid media keeps it going i think its realllllyyyy stupidddddd
ashy_gibb
Ashley
posted 10/09/07 @ 10:23 AM CST
ON SOME REAL SHIT I THINK ITS SOME BULLCRAP I DONT UNDERSTAND Y THE WHITE SKIN DIDNT GET CHARED FOR ANYTHING AND THEY STARTED. THEY JUST BLAMED IT ALL ON THE BROWN SKIN I AM A BROWNED SKINNED FEMALE AND HELL I THINK EVERYONE IS LETTIN THE WHITE PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH THIS SHIT THEY KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON ITS THE GOVERNMENT THATS ALLOWING IT . (Continued…)
Tom Metzger
posted 10/11/07 @ 3:04 PM CST
Oh my!Run for your lives white Race separates are coming.
Why not just admit Race separatism is better than forced integration. Multiculturalism or PC racial mixing is failing after billions have been spent in an attempt to accomplish the impossible. (Continued…)
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