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This Week's Attitude
Not since the heyday of the 1960s civil rights movement and that era's shameful events in the Deep South has an incident of racial injustice drawn so much interest, caused such tension or aroused so much passion as the Jena Six. Not to mention reluctantly raising the profile of a poor, rural town, 250 miles north of New Orleans. Until recently, the media and the public were, for the most part, unaware of events that led to last week's protest march to demand justice for six black youths after several months of racist attacks. I first heard about events in Jena (pronounced JEEN-uh), a rural town of 3,000 in central Louisiana, several weeks ago on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher." But last week, it was the focus of the national media spotlight when black activists, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, the son of the slain civil rights icon, and rapper Mos Def, joined thousands of black and white students and citizens who peacefully marched to demand justice and protest the unjust treatment of six youths - aged 15 to 17 - following the beating of a white classmate during a wave of racial incidents in August, 2006. Over a year ago, three nooses - an accepted symbol for the notorious Ku Klux Klan - were hung from a tree on school grounds where white students frequently gathered, the day after a black student was granted permission to sit under the tree. The fact that anyone (except perhaps the reviled president of Iran) needs consent to sit in a public place in 21st century America is preposterous. But, regardless of the date, prejudice in the U.S. is still inherent in pockets below the Mason-Dixon line and, dare I say, in more than a few communities north of that, too. A trio of white students was suspended three days for displaying the nooses, but despite the episode's blatant racial provocation, the local district attorney didn't prosecute them because he couldn't find a law to charge them, causing underlying racial tensions to escalate. The local school board refused to intervene, claiming the issue had been resolved, despite objections from the black student population. Yet, some black and white residents characterize the problems as acts of a small group of troublemakers. Precise details of what actually happened afterward differ and conflict with official reports, which the town's black community maintains are not accurate and favor white students. Nevertheless, the controversy snowballed and gradually got the attention of many black communities nationwide, as a series of racially charged incidents erupted. For a few months several incidents of black and white brawls ensued in Jena. There was also an incident of arson at Jena High School, but that case remains unsolved. The racial divide culminated last December when six teens were arrested after beating a white student on school grounds and leaving him unconscious - though after being treated he attended a school function later that day. Attempted second-degree murder charges, due to the youths' sneakers being cited as lethal weapons, were subsequently reduced, but white officials were quickly branded racists in their haste to excessively accuse the five youths. The sixth teen was booked as a juvenile, so the charges were sealed. In July, an all-white jury- in less than two hours of deliberation - convicted one of the five, 17-year-old Mychal Bell of aggravated battery and conspiracy. Even though the result was later overturned when a court ruled he should not have been tried as an adult, Bell remains in jail without bail, which is a clear violation of his rights. An honor student with a high-grade average, Bell has a juvenile criminal record and was on probation at the time of his arrest. The five youths who attacked the white student in December deserve to be punished, but the penalty should fit the crime. And Louisiana prosecutors would be wise to dispense appropriate sentences for the white students, who, motivated by bigotry, seem to have incited an aftermath of racial events. The FBI and the Justice Department are keeping an eye on Jena as events unfold, but they must do their utmost to guarantee that the type of double standards of justice previously experienced by black Americans in the criminal justice system are not repeated. Regrettably, the vestiges of racism and other prejudices will never completely vanish from our society as long as there are those who harbor hatred and disgust for those who are different or don't measure up to another's values, whether in appearance, cultural belief or personal choice. But federal, state and local governments have a basic responsibility to uphold Constitutional rights and, more importantly, to condemn discriminatory injustices that continue to trouble our nation.
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