Racism is alive and well in these United States.

The Jena 6 Case is History Written in Lightning

The Jena 6 case began last fall when a new black student to the mostly white, rural Louisiana town of Jena sat under the "white tree," so called because it was the place where the white kids at school congregated. The next day three white boys on the rodeo team hung three nooses from the tree. The white boys were only given an in-school suspension, their act deemed no more than a "prank." The day after that several of the school's black high school football stars organized a peaceful silent protest under the tree. The school freaked, called in the police and the next day Reed Walters, the local D.A., addressed the school. There, he is reported to have looked at the black kids in the audience, waved his pen in the air and said, "With a stroke of this pen, I can make your life disappear."

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La. Protests Hark Back to '50s, '60s

Drawn by a case tinged with one of the most hated symbols of Old South racism _ a hangman's noose tied in an oak tree _ thousands of protesters rallied Thursday against what they see as a double standard of prosecution for blacks and whites. The plight of the so-called Jena Six became a flashpoint for one the biggest civil-rights demonstrations in years. Five of the black teens were initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate.

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Notes From Jena

I am sitting in a coffeeshop in Natchez, MS, trying to decide what to write about today’s demonstration in Jena, LA. The organizer in me wants to lead by reiterating the story that, if you’re reading this, you likely already know- six young men sent to jail on trumped up charges due to the racist actions of a few very stupid, very powerful men… but to me that’s not the most notable story of the day. Those young men certainly deserve justice and thanks in large part to the public attention that’s been focused on the town in the last few months, they may actually get it- but for me this day was the story of one of the largest public declarations of civil rights advocacy in recent memory, one where the whole thing went off without a hitch. No arrests, no hospitalizations, nothing but an entire town full of focused demonstrators who were successful in getting their message out. This day was a model of what social action should always look like, how a large group of individuals can come to the aid of a few in need, and in so doing, change the political dialogue for an entire country. This was the day that restored my faith in mass demonstrations.

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