but I’m keeping it up anyway because the support is still needed. 5 years ago

Scary trend…5 years ago

I were able to do more than pray. And wish I had been able to attend the March on DC5 years ago

I wore my “free the Jena Six” T-shirt, and I won’t tell you the name some uneducated, backwoods, inbred racist motherfucker called me, but the fact that he thought saying I love African American people was insulting was just enough to make me say “Yes, sir, I am. Now fuck off.”

Some people are so freakin’ close-minded and dumb.

And then…of course…I started thinkin’ about Dylan.
“Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth,
Blowing down the backroads headin’ south.
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth,
You’re an idiot, babe.
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe.” 5 years ago

Bummed about Mychal Bell’s house arrest. It seems that he can’t even go to school or have any visitors. Only his parents and lawyers are allowed to see him. I guess this judge is in it for the long haul. Why deprive the kid of an education? I just don’t get it. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of bail? 5 years ago

Released on bail but still facing charges in the juvenile court system. I find it wonderful that a stranger posted his bond. Dr. Stephen Ayers deserves major kudos for allowing the young man to go home for the first time in 10 months. Yahoo’s article on the whole things is here5 years ago

Read about it here. 5 years ago

The fact that this kind of crap is happening makes me sick.

I’ll be watching this story as it unfolds… 5 years ago

And I was shocked. Who would do that?? It sickens me to think that such at large racism is happening right now. As I speak. I thought that stuff was supposed to be… in the segregation age, like Martin Luther King and stuff. But what those white people did is so… indescribably BAD! Especially the whole nooses on the tree… it’s so symbolic and, I couldn’t help to think of the KKK in English… I mean, i know it’s not like that. Completely yet. But, it’s just so violent and mean and GRR! My emotions on this are so scrambled… like… goshhh. I can’t explain how I feel, i just know that it’s very upsetting, and I’m going to express how I feel right in the end. 5 years ago

Remember those posters in dentists offices a few years ago? The theme being that ignoring a little problem can become a big problem.

We tend to have this ability in this country to ignore “minor” problems until they escalate into something big. The circumstances surrounding the Jena 6 is not symptomatic of the rural south, or the justic system, or even racism. It is a symptom of the national pandemic of ignoring small issues becuase they are uncomfortable or inconvenient.

The case of the Jena 6 probably never would have happened had school administrators properly dealt with those three boys acting afool. Instead of making waves they went home with a slap on the wrist.

A little futher north we just need to look at Minneapolis and how we have neglected our infrastructure in this country, in large part because building new bridges and roads is sexy and exciting, while maintaining old ones is dull and boring. Way back in the late 1990’s I recall an episode of Oprah in which one of the guests stated that infrastructure was going to be one of the chief domestic issues of the 21st Century. Most of us did not hear that word infrastructure again until the I-35 bridge collapsed.

Mortgages were handed out to just about anyone who asked, for years. Now in communities across the country forclosures are on the rise but no one seemed to pay heed until the problem go out of hand. The same goes with exporting manufacturing to third world countries, no one seemed to care about the children making products for Wal-Mart, it was only after American children were exposed to lead paint did we consider the true cost of exporting jobs.

The initial incidents that led to the whole mess were small, and uncomforable, and recalled a time most would like to forget. Just as flossing is not the most exciting part of my day, I know that many problems will be avoided by taking part in that activity daily. We as a nation have to find it in ourselves to floss daily, deal with those annoying things that we run across, daily, to avoid bigger problems. We’re Americans after all, we can handle being uncomfortable because in the end it will make us a better people.

Thanks guys. All six of you. The lesson you are teaching us transcends more issues than you even realize.

Godspeed Gentlemen! 5 years ago

Written blog entries, called people on Capital Hill and given money to Mychal Bell’s Legal Defense fund. http://www.naacp.org/home/index.htm 5 years ago

It was cool to see the variety of people at the prayer vigil. It showed that this is a people thing and not just a color thing. I took my kids and I was glad I did. It showed them that people of different faiths can come together to make the world a better place. We plan to wear black tomorrow to support the cause. 5 years ago

I love how the mainsteam media is being forced to finally cover this…ha. According to CNN (“the leading name in Aaaah!”¹), many businesses are closing down because they are afraid of angry black people vandalism. Now I’m really disappointed that I can’t go and help in some small way to remind people that this is not just a “black thing.”

1Jon Stewart quote5 years ago

I have my Capstone this week and so (besides $$) there’s no chance of getting to Jena on the 20th. I was kinda revved up about it, I’ve never been in any kind of march or demonstration. Of course, the whole not being able to stand up for more than 20 minutes without experiencing intense discomfort would prolly have put a “cramp” in things as well…

There was a mention of the Jena Six on CNN the other day and the (white) newscaster didn’t even explain the whole story. He just said there was a “perception” of a lack of justice regarding the incident on the part of the black community. Excuse me, mofo, it’s not a “perception”; it’s called being f*cked because of your skin color.

I haven’t talked about this to many people but I was disappointed by two reactions I received. One was from a co-worker (on a temp job, otherwise I wouldn’t mention it). He made a remark to the effect that the black students shouldn’t have made waves by wanting to sit under the tree in the first place. “So by your logic,” I replied, “blacks should still be sitting in the back of the bus, and not rocking the boat?” He tried to backtrack his way out of it, but didn’t do very well. I shouldn’t have brought it up since we were at work anyhow.

The second reaction was from a man who said something like, “Didn’t they (the black students) set fire to the school?”. His implication was, that mitigated the harshness of the jail sentence. First of all, the people who did that were never caught, so assuming that the fire was set by the Jena Six is wrong. Secondly, one has nothing to do with the other. The black students are in jail for fighting and the white students are not. Period. 5 years ago

I just heard the Jena 6 mentioned on my local news finally!!!!! I know that I cannot stop supporting the cause until they are all cleared. 5 years ago

and wrote an email to Gov. Blanco. I also sent the email to everyone in my contact list. 5 years ago

I sent the emails to the governor and a personal message that I would not be purchasing any products from Louisiana unless this was resolved properly. Not that I get much from Louisiana, but that seems to be the best I can do. 5 years ago

from colorofchange site http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/. Sent information and links to my friends and family. It’s incredible there’s nothing in mainstream news about this. There’s an article here http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220. 5 years ago

_{re-posting under new goal}

The following letter is taken directly from the website “Free the Jena 6”. Please consider signing the petition to the governor of Louisiana.

I just learned about a case of segregation-era oppression happening today in Jena, Louisiana. I signed onto ColorOfChange.org’s campaign for justice in Jena, and wanted to invite you to do the same.

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=1833-316067

Last fall in Jena, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the “white tree” on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a “prank,” more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town’s police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy… I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen.”

A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

It’s a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in “their place.” But it’s happening today. The families of these young men are fighting back, but the story has gotten minimal press. Together, we can make sure their story is told and that the Governor of Louisiana intervenes and provides justice for the Jena 6. It starts now. Please join me:

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=1833-316067

The noose-hanging incident and the DA’s visit to the school set the stage for everything that followed. Racial tension escalated over the next couple of months, and on November 30, the main academic building of Jena High School was burned down in an unsolved fire. Later the same weekend, a black student was beaten up by white students at a party. The next day, black students at a convenience store were threatened by a young white man with a shotgun. They wrestled the gun from him and ran away. While no charges were filed against the white man, the students were later arrested for the theft of the gun.

That Monday at school, a white student, who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses, taunted the black student who was beaten up at the off-campus party and allegedly called several black students “nigger.” After lunch, he was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. He was taken to the hospital, but was released and was well enough to go to a social event that evening.

Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. The first trial ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December, was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his public defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal’s parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the judge could see them.

Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20, and could go to jail for 22 years. Theo Shaw’s trial is next.

The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they are standing strong. We know that if the families have to go it alone, their sons will be a long time coming home. But if we act now, we can make a difference.

Join me in demanding that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who have not yet gone to trial.

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=1833-316067

Thanks. 5 years ago

more cohorts. 5 years ago

See Maggie’s entry here5 years ago

on the legal maneuverings. Some charges have been reduced, & one was dropped, but it’s still disproportionate:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090501082.html 5 years ago

Read Maggie’s entry for the details about this disproportionate punishment of youthful black offenders in what seems to be a really racist setting. 5 years ago

i just noticed RuthG joined up with me. :0) 5 years ago

read this.
It’s an utter disgrace.

There’s a demonstration September 20. I’d like to go if a) my temp job finishes early and b) I can hitch a ride with some supporters.

Sign the online petition here5 years ago