outrage *updated*
** Here is a BBC story on the Jena Six. Finally some news coverage! **
Picture the scene:
Deep in the South - Jena, Louisiana.
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."1
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.
When did this happen?
1959? 1963? 1970?
Nope - 2007!!
That's right, this is happening NOW.
Last month, the first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. Later this month, he will be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison for a school fight.
I am outraged, and I hope you are too. Sign the Jena 6 petition to express your outrage, and (I hope) help to free these 6 kids.
[Thanks to Haze and Tami for bringing this to my attention.]
** Updated to add this link to a site where you can buy a
"Free the Jena 6" T-shirt - support the cause! **
7 comments:
Good one, chou2. It's all about raising awareness I can't believe I hadn't heard about it until a few days ago. I don't understand why it's not all over the news - I guess there's not enough time to cover stories like this after discussing paternity tests, rehab stints, and the like...
I read about this earlier in the week on CNN. Horrible.
Thanks chou chou for posting and bringing awareness on your site!
Oh, this story is pissing me off. I am glad you posted about it.
When I think about this, I feel sick, I feel even more sick when I think about how the authorities have handled it.
What? Outrageous!
I can't even believe this... I've already gone and signed, and I'll be emailing it out to my entire contact list.
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