Jena 6 case goes Primetime
Finally. Mychal Bell has been in jail since December. Finally we have a national audience to shine the light of justice into this dark corner of America called Jena, La. March is planned for tomorrow in Jena. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will be there. Folks from Houston and Atlanta will be there. David Bowie has given $10,000 to the Jena defense fund. There is some real momentum building.
Jena is a town of 2900. So the town will be overwhelmed by the expected 40,000 people. The Jena DA has spoken out. He wonders why no one has talked about the victim. Look, if 6 guys jump some dude who is minding his own business then everyone talks about the victim. When, there has been a series of events in which Blacks have systemically have been given the shaft time after time then we are all less sympathetic to the victim.
Look, all that I want is fair and equal treatment. That’s it. The dude who pulled a shotgun on some of the black students needs to be charged. The White dudes that beat up a Black dude and this happened before the 6 Black dudes jumped on the White guy. The White dudes need to be charged with something. Oh, and didn’t the White guy, the victim taunt the Black students just before they kicked his butt? Here’s the whole story.
BTW, when you watch the video, please look for the woman who says that she is going to close her shop today. Why? “Because we (I) don’t know what’s going to happen.” This is Jena in a nutshell. This says it all.
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From WaPo:
Spurred by the Internet and a popular disc jockey’s nationwide urban radio program, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on a sleepy rural Louisiana town to protest what they say are excessive criminal charges against six black teenagers involved in a schoolyard brawl.
About 500 tour buses bearing thousands of riders were scheduled to depart from cities across the United States in the wee hours today for Jena, La., about 230 miles northwest of New Orleans. They will join others who will travel by airplane, automobile caravans and motorcycle convoys in what organizers say is a protest reminiscent of the Freedom Rides of the 1960s.
The demonstration was originally set to coincide with the sentencing of one of the defendants. But even though a state appeals court dismissed his battery conviction last week, organizers decided to go ahead with the rally. In addition, they asked people across the country to dress in black today to show solidarity with the demonstrators. (more…)
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