SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Free The Jena 6
Sep 12, 2007
I've been meaning to write about the Jena 6 since I first heard the shocking details of what sounds like a story from the Jim Crow-era South. But the lives of six black high school students--accused of beating up a white classmate after a series of racial incidents at a high school in the small Louisiana town--are being ruined today in Jena, Louisiana in a case that simply boggles the mind.
The trouble started when one black student, after requesting and receiving permission from the school administration, decided to sit under a shade tree traditionally used by white students. In response, white students hung three nooses from the tree. That act -- a throwback to the days when blacks were lynched for exercising their civil rights -- was portrayed by school officials as a "silly prank," and the white students got off with a slap on the wrist.
But, while the misconduct by white students was handled as a joke, a related incident in which a former student brandished a shotgun at three black students went unpunished and a subsequent attack against a black student at a private party resulted in one of the attackers being charged with only a misdemeanor, school officials and the LaSalle Parish District Attorney have brought out a hammer against the black students charging them with felonious assault and second degree attempted murder which could result in decades of imprisonment.
This video prepared by Collateral News does a great job in detailing the case, the charges and the racist application of justice so evident in the proceedings so far.
After watching the report, click here to sign a national petition asking the Louisiana governor to intervene in the case and consider sending a donation to the students' legal defense fund by mailing checks to the Jena 6 Defense Fund, PO Box 2798, Jena, La. 71342 or by giving online.
Fortunately, this petition is just one part of a growing campaign on behalf of the six black teenagers charged with attacking a white student in the small town of Jena. The NAACP has made the case a top priority and is organizing a September 20 march on Jena, civil rights leaders are planning to attend protests next week and lawyers nationwide are taking an interest in the situation.
"The case has captured the imagination of a lot of people," Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is helping to coordinate legal representation for the six boys and is paying for some of their legal fees, told ABC News today. "It's taken on symbolic importance as a microcosm for so many other things that are wrong with the criminal justice system."
Peter Rothberg writes the ActNow column for the The Nation. ActNow aims to put readers in touch with creative ways to register informed dissent. Whether it's a grassroots political campaign, a progressive film festival, an antiwar candidate, a street march, a Congressional bill needing popular support or a global petition, ActNow will highlight the outpouring of cultural, political and anti-corporate activism sweeping the planet. Watch this space for more examples in the coming days.
(c) 2007 The Nation
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 The Nation
Peter Rothberg
Peter Rothberg is the associate publisher for special projects at The Nation. Rothberg, a former speechwriter for civil rights leader Julian Bond, is the editor of Lived History: Lives We've Lost, 2012-13.
I've been meaning to write about the Jena 6 since I first heard the shocking details of what sounds like a story from the Jim Crow-era South. But the lives of six black high school students--accused of beating up a white classmate after a series of racial incidents at a high school in the small Louisiana town--are being ruined today in Jena, Louisiana in a case that simply boggles the mind.
The trouble started when one black student, after requesting and receiving permission from the school administration, decided to sit under a shade tree traditionally used by white students. In response, white students hung three nooses from the tree. That act -- a throwback to the days when blacks were lynched for exercising their civil rights -- was portrayed by school officials as a "silly prank," and the white students got off with a slap on the wrist.
But, while the misconduct by white students was handled as a joke, a related incident in which a former student brandished a shotgun at three black students went unpunished and a subsequent attack against a black student at a private party resulted in one of the attackers being charged with only a misdemeanor, school officials and the LaSalle Parish District Attorney have brought out a hammer against the black students charging them with felonious assault and second degree attempted murder which could result in decades of imprisonment.
This video prepared by Collateral News does a great job in detailing the case, the charges and the racist application of justice so evident in the proceedings so far.
After watching the report, click here to sign a national petition asking the Louisiana governor to intervene in the case and consider sending a donation to the students' legal defense fund by mailing checks to the Jena 6 Defense Fund, PO Box 2798, Jena, La. 71342 or by giving online.
Fortunately, this petition is just one part of a growing campaign on behalf of the six black teenagers charged with attacking a white student in the small town of Jena. The NAACP has made the case a top priority and is organizing a September 20 march on Jena, civil rights leaders are planning to attend protests next week and lawyers nationwide are taking an interest in the situation.
"The case has captured the imagination of a lot of people," Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is helping to coordinate legal representation for the six boys and is paying for some of their legal fees, told ABC News today. "It's taken on symbolic importance as a microcosm for so many other things that are wrong with the criminal justice system."
Peter Rothberg writes the ActNow column for the The Nation. ActNow aims to put readers in touch with creative ways to register informed dissent. Whether it's a grassroots political campaign, a progressive film festival, an antiwar candidate, a street march, a Congressional bill needing popular support or a global petition, ActNow will highlight the outpouring of cultural, political and anti-corporate activism sweeping the planet. Watch this space for more examples in the coming days.
(c) 2007 The Nation
Peter Rothberg
Peter Rothberg is the associate publisher for special projects at The Nation. Rothberg, a former speechwriter for civil rights leader Julian Bond, is the editor of Lived History: Lives We've Lost, 2012-13.
I've been meaning to write about the Jena 6 since I first heard the shocking details of what sounds like a story from the Jim Crow-era South. But the lives of six black high school students--accused of beating up a white classmate after a series of racial incidents at a high school in the small Louisiana town--are being ruined today in Jena, Louisiana in a case that simply boggles the mind.
The trouble started when one black student, after requesting and receiving permission from the school administration, decided to sit under a shade tree traditionally used by white students. In response, white students hung three nooses from the tree. That act -- a throwback to the days when blacks were lynched for exercising their civil rights -- was portrayed by school officials as a "silly prank," and the white students got off with a slap on the wrist.
But, while the misconduct by white students was handled as a joke, a related incident in which a former student brandished a shotgun at three black students went unpunished and a subsequent attack against a black student at a private party resulted in one of the attackers being charged with only a misdemeanor, school officials and the LaSalle Parish District Attorney have brought out a hammer against the black students charging them with felonious assault and second degree attempted murder which could result in decades of imprisonment.
This video prepared by Collateral News does a great job in detailing the case, the charges and the racist application of justice so evident in the proceedings so far.
After watching the report, click here to sign a national petition asking the Louisiana governor to intervene in the case and consider sending a donation to the students' legal defense fund by mailing checks to the Jena 6 Defense Fund, PO Box 2798, Jena, La. 71342 or by giving online.
Fortunately, this petition is just one part of a growing campaign on behalf of the six black teenagers charged with attacking a white student in the small town of Jena. The NAACP has made the case a top priority and is organizing a September 20 march on Jena, civil rights leaders are planning to attend protests next week and lawyers nationwide are taking an interest in the situation.
"The case has captured the imagination of a lot of people," Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is helping to coordinate legal representation for the six boys and is paying for some of their legal fees, told ABC News today. "It's taken on symbolic importance as a microcosm for so many other things that are wrong with the criminal justice system."
Peter Rothberg writes the ActNow column for the The Nation. ActNow aims to put readers in touch with creative ways to register informed dissent. Whether it's a grassroots political campaign, a progressive film festival, an antiwar candidate, a street march, a Congressional bill needing popular support or a global petition, ActNow will highlight the outpouring of cultural, political and anti-corporate activism sweeping the planet. Watch this space for more examples in the coming days.
(c) 2007 The Nation
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy