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The Jena 6 Case |
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 July Rally in Jena (photo: Mavis Yorks)
HOW TO GET INVOLVED!
On September 20th, Mychal Bell--the first of the Jena 6 to be
convicted--is scheduled for sentencing. If the District Attorney has
his way, Mychal will face 22 years in prison. It's a horrifying moment
for Mychal, his parents, and the rest of the
Jena 6 families. It's also
a perfect time for those who can to come to Jena, in person, and stand
with them. We know it's a serious time and financial commitment, but we
wanted to give you the opportunity to join the hundreds of people who
have already emailed us to say that they will come.
If you can join the event,
please click on the link below to RSVP: http://colorofchange.org/jena/rsvp.html
Our presence in Jena--in large numbers--will help focus media attention
on the situation in Jena, escalate pressure on Louisiana public
officials, and most importantly, show the families of the Jena 6,
especially Mychal Bell and his parents, that we will stand with them in
the face of this injustice.
TRAVEL DETAILS
If you're flying to Louisiana, the
closest airports to Jena are Alexandria (45 minute drive) and Monroe
(1.5 hour drive).
You can also fly to Lafayette (2.25 hour drive),
Shreveport (2.75 hour drive), Baton Rouge (3 hour drive), New Orleans
(4.25 hour drive), or Houston (about a 5 hour drive).
The closest
hotels are in Pineville and Alexandria. As they fill up, we'd recommend
staying at hotels near the airports above.
If travelling from out of town, you'll want to get to Louisiana the
night before, as things will start early in the morning, probably by
8am or 9am. Organizers will meet you when you arrive at a central
location in Jena and get you situated for the day. We will be providing
maps, organizers' cell phone numbers, and other information closer to
the day-of; you will be able to reach someone in case you have any
problems, need directions, or have questions along the way.
Summary of the Case
(more details in the rest of this article)
On the morning of September 1, 2006, three nooses
dangled from a tree in the High School square in Jena , Louisiana.
The day before, at a school assembly, black students had asked the
vice principal if they could sit under that tree.
Characterizing the noose incident as an innocent
prank, a discipline committee meted out a few days of in-school
suspension and declared the matter settled.
At the end of November, the central academic wing of
Jena High School was destroyed by fire. Over that weekend, a stream of white-initiated
racial violence swept over the tiny community, adding to the trauma
and tension. The following Monday, a white student was punched and
kicked following a lunch-hour taunting match. Six black athletes were
arrested and charged with conspiracy to attempt second-degree murder.
If convicted, some defendants are facing sentences of between
twenty-five and 100 years in prison without parole.
Websites for More Info
Recent Developments
The judge just threw out the conspiracy conviction
against Mychal Bell, the only one convicted so far, saying that a
juvenile can't be brought up to adult court on conspiracy charges.
The DA charged them with attempted murder for a fist
fight to move them up to adult court and then dropped the attempted
murder charges. We think he was just trying to find a way to get the
cases up-0 to adult court.
The mainstream media don't mention that the families
have organized themselves into a group the Jena 6 Defense Committee,
and have been holding demonstrations at the courthouse and community
meetings. Most of the media talk about the "tragedy," of
the families, and not their resistance.
How Can You Support?You can make contributions to the families:
Jena 6
Defense Committee
PO Box 2798, Jena LA 71342
and show up at the La
Salle parish courthouse for the demo at Mychal Bell's sentencing on SEPTEMBER 20th, 2007.
La Salle Parish courthouse is located at: Courthouse St., Jena,
La. 71342
A survey of relevant events
-
On Thursday, August 31, 2006, a small group of black
students asked if they could sit under a tree on the traditionally
white side of the Jena High School square.
-
The students were informed by the Vice Principal that
they could sit wherever they pleased.
-
The following day, September 1, 2006, three nooses
were found hanging from the tree in question. Two of the nooses were
black and one was gold: the Jena High School colors.
-
On Tuesday night, September 5, 2006, a group of black
parents convened at the L&A Missionary Baptist Church in Jena to
discuss their response to what they considered a hate crime and an
act of intimidation.
-
When black students staged an impromptu protest under
the tree on Wednesday, September 6, 2006, a school assembly was
hastily convened. Flanked by police officers, District Attorney Reed
Walters warned black students that additional unrest would be treated
as a criminal matter. According to multiple witnesses, Walters warned
the black student protestors that, "I can make your lives
disappear with a stroke of my pen." This was widely
interpreted as a reference to the filing of charges carrying a
maximum sentence of life in prison.
-
On Thursday, September 7th, police officers patrolled
the halls of Jena High School and on Friday, September 8th, the
school was placed on full lockdown. Most students, black and white,
either stayed home, or were picked up by parents shortly after the
lockdown was imposed. The Jena Times suggested that black parents
were to blame for the unrest at the school because their September
5th gathering had attracted media attention.
-
Principal Scott Windham recommended to an expulsion
hearing committee that the three white boys responsible for hanging
the nooses in the tree should be expelled from school.
-
On Thursday September 7, 2006, asserting that the
noose were merely a silly prank inspired by a hanging scene in the
television min-series 'Lonesome Dove', the committee opted for a few
days of in-school suspension. The names of the three students were
not released to the public for reasons of confidentiality.
-
According to press accounts, on September 10, 2006,
several dozen black parents attempted to address a meeting of the
school board but were refused an opportunity to speak.
-
At a second September meeting of the school board,
September 18, 2006, a representative of the black families was
allowed to give a five-minute statement, but school board refused to
discuss the "noose issue" because the matter had been fully
addressed and resolved.
- Although few major disciplinary issues emerged during
the fall semester at Jena High School, there is strong evidence that
several black male students remained unusually agitated throughout
the semester and that disciplinary referrals on these students spiked
sharply.
- On Thursday, November 30, 2006, the academic wing of
the Jena High School was largely destroyed by a massive fire.
Officials strongly suspect arson.
-
Throughout the following weekend, Jena was engulfed
by a wave of racially tinged violence.
-
In one incident, a black student was assaulted by a
white adult as he entered a predominantly white partly held at the
Fair Barn (a large metal building reserved for social events). After
being struck in the face without warning, the young black student was
assaulted by white students wielding beer bottles and was punched and
kicked before adults broke up the fight. It has been reported that
the white assailant who threw the first punch was subsequently
charged with simple battery (a misdemeanor), but there is no
documentary evidence that anyone was charged.
-
In a second major incident, a white high school
graduate who had been involved in the assault the night before pulled
a pump-action shotgun on three black high school students as they
exited the Gotta-Go, a local convenience store. After a brief
struggle for possession of the firearm, the black students exited the
scene with the weapon.
-
The Jena Times has reported that, in light of these
racially-tinged incidents, several high school teachers begged school
administrators to postpone the resumption of classes until the wave
of hysteria had dissipated. This request was ignored and classes
resumed the morning of Monday, December 4, 2006.
-
Shortly after the lunch hour of Monday, December 4,
2006, a fight between a white student and a black student reportedly
ended with the white student being knocked to the floor. Several
black students reportedly attacked the white student as he lay
unconscious. Because the incident took place in a crowded area and
was over in a matter of seconds eye witness accounts vary widely.
Written statements from students closest to the scene (in space and
time) suggest that the incident was sparked by an angry exchange in
the gymnasium moments before in which the black student assaulted at
the Fair Barn was taunted for having his "ass whipped".
-
The victim of the attack is close friends of the boys
who have admitted to hanging the nooses in September of 2006.
-
Within an hour of the fight, six black students were
arrested and charged with aggravated battery. According to The Jena
Times, at least a dozen teachers subsequently threatened a "sick-out"
if discipline was not restored to the school. According to the
Alexandria Town Talk, District Attorney Reed Walters responded to the
teacher's threat by upping the charges on the six boys to attempted
second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree
murder-charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
-
On the basis of the charges filed by the District
Attorney's office, all six black students have been expelled for the
remainder of the school year and, according to The Jena Times ,
several teachers quickly demanded that the accused boys be barred
from the school for life.
-
On December 13, 2006, District Attorney, Reed Walters
published a statement in The Jena Times in which the young men
arrested in the school fight incident were characterized as criminals
who had been terrorizing both the school and the community. The
sloppy wording of the statement and an introduction associating the
tirade with the "recent two incidents at Jena High School"
created the impression that those accused of involvement in the fight
were also suspected of settling the school fire.
-
The Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct 3.6(a)
state that: "A lawyer who is participating or has participated
in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an
extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should
know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will
have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an
adjudicative proceeding in the matter."
- At a January 29 school board meeting called to
consider the possibility of reversing the decision to expel the
students, District Attorney Reed Walters, appeared as the school
district's legal counsel. Although it is standard practice in
Louisiana for district attorneys to represent the local school board,
there is strong evidence that the disciplinary investigation
undertaken by the school and the criminal investigation of the
December 4 fight are virtually indistinguishable. This heightens the
impression that the charges filed by DA Reed Walters reflect the
understandable hysteria engulfing both the student body and the
school faculty in the wake of the school fire and a weekend of racial
violence.
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