Over a month ago, CenLamar featured a compendium of information on the case of the Jena Six. Since then, the compendium has been widely circulated and read. Throughout the past month, however, the story has taken many turns, and recently, charges were reduced to a lesser offense against four of the five young men who were initially charged with attempted second degree murder (the sixth is being tried in juvenile court).
Here in Central Louisiana, the case of the Jena Six continues to be a contentious issue. According to the results of an unscientific poll released by The Town Talk, a vast majority of respondents (over 70%) believe the charges are adequate (and this was conducted BEFORE the District Attorney decided to reduce charges against at least three of the defendents).
Lest a reader from outside of Central Louisiana conclude that these results are indicative of the local impression regarding this case, I caution that the poll was conducted online, and it enabled a single person to vote multiple times. It is easy to see the potential for abuse. Certainly, however, the community remains divided.
When Reverend Jesse Jackson arrived in Jena a week ago, the local reaction, at least online, was mixed. Many people have argued that the imposition of race as a factor in this case has obscured attention away from the crime itself, a fight in which six young men allegedly beat up one young man. They assert that the nature of the crime (six versus one) justifies a harsh penalty. Many have attempted to remove race altogether, retelling the story as somehow “race neutral.”
Since late December of 2006, the quiet town of Jena, Louisiana has been the subject of intense media scrutiny. The story of the Jena Six has made national and international headlines, causing many to ask serious and important questions about the present-day realities of racism in Louisiana. CenLamar has been covering the tensions in Jena, Louisiana even before the now-infamous Jena Six incident, when the main academic building of Jena High School was set on fire on November 30, 2006. Less than a week later, the now-infamous Jena Six incident occured.
This is intended to be a resource for anyone interested in learning about the Jena Six, and it is offered with the sincere hope that all Louisianans, both black and white, Republican and Democrat, will recognize this injustice and demand equal treatment for all under the law.
Ryan of The Daily Kingfish provided a synopsis, courtesy of Pursuing Holiness. For the purposes of clarity, this is the full recapitulation provided by Pursuing Happiness:
This ia an update to the unfolding scandal up in Jena, Louisiana. For a detailed discussion of events leading up to the fight between black students and the white students that led to the charges filed against the black students, click here to a previous post by Lamar White Jr, and to Pursuing Holiness, which has done an excellent job of covering the mess up in Jena. Here's a brief explanation of events so far, thanks to Pursuing Holiness:
In Jena, Louisiana, a black student challenged the de facto segregation of his high school by asking permission to sit under the “white tree.” School officials told him to sit where he liked. The next day three nooses hung from the tree, which triggered an impromptu protest by the black students of Jena High.
LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, flanked by the police, informed the black students at an assembly later that day that he could end their lives “with the stroke of a pen.”
Racial tensions grew, the school’s academic wing was burned, and Robert Bailey, a black student, was attacked by a group of whites at a party. One person was charged with a misdemeanor for that beating. The next day Bailey and two friends were threatened with a shotgun at a convenience store by Matt Windham, a white man who had been present at the beating. They wrestled the gun away from him and ran to report the incident to the police, who charged them with robbery of the shotgun.
Finally at school two days later, a group of white students, including the noose hangers, taunted Bailey and other students, calling them “niggers.” A white student was beaten by a group of black students, taken to the hospital and released within three hours. He attended a school function that night.
Six black students were charged with second degree attempted murder for the fight. The first to be tried was Mychal Bell, whose public defender put on no case, called no witnesses, and permitted a friend of the DA, the mother of a prosecution witness, and a good friend of the victim’s mother, to be empaneled on the six person jury. Bell was quickly found guilty. Robert Bailey, Theodore Shaw, Carwin Jones, and Bryant Purvis are still waiting to be tried. The sixth of the Jena Six is in the juvenile justice system.
Cross-posted from 
