More Jena 6, Less Michael Vick
GENERAL By TSSCrew on August 28, 2007 at 7:25 amOriginally posted by M.Dot @ ModelMinority.com.
If I told you that a 16 year old was charged as an adult for attempted murder after allegedly getting into a fight (along with 5 others) with another student, would you believe me?
What if the victim was knocked unconscious but was released for the hospital the same night? What if the alleged victim testified that he didn’t know who hit him first?
Well, this is precisely what happened in the Jena 6 case.
Notably, the victim is white and the members of the Jena 6 are Black.
Bloggers tend to be ahead of the curve. Changeseeker put me on to the Jena 6 petition a month or two ago. However, I wasn’t compelled to write about it ’til Gotty reminded me of how the case was being buried by Micheal Vick stories.
Jena, Louisiana is a town comprised of approximately 3000 residents, and approximately, 350 Black folks. Apparently last summer, some of the Black students asked to sit under the “white tree”. Here is the backstory:
On a late summer day in 2006, in Jena, Louisiana, a Black high school student asked permission to sit beneath the “white tree” in front of the town’s high school. It was unspoken law that this shady area was for whites only during school breaks. But a student asked, and the vice principal said nothing was stopping them. So Black students sat underneath the tree, challenging the established authority of segregation and racism. The next day, hanging from the tree, were three ropes, in school colors, each tied to make a noose.
Many folks, especially the Black parents felt that the Noose Incident should have been treated like a hate crime. The attack was brushed off as a “youthful stunt.” The three white students responsible, given only three days of in-school suspension. In response to the incident, several Black students, among them star players on the football team, staged a sit-in under the tree. The principal reacted by bringing in the white district attorney, Reed Walters, and 10 local police officers to an all-school assembly. Police officers roamed the halls of the school that week, and tensions simmered throughout the fall semester.
In November, as football season came to a close, the main school building was mysteriously burned to the ground. This traumatic event seemed to bring to the surface the boiling racial tensions in Jena.
This is the background that let up TO THE FIGHT that happend on December 6th. The following is a description of what happened prior the major Jena Six Event.
On a Friday night [Friday December 3rd,2006], Robert Bailey, a 17-year-old Black student and football player, was invited to a dance at a hall considered to be “white.” When he walked in, without warning he was punched in the face, knocked on the ground and attacked by a group of white youth. Only one of the white youth was arrested—he was ultimately given probation and asked to apologize.
The night after that, a 22-year-old white man, along with two friends, pulled a gun on Bailey and two of his friends at a local gas station. The Black youths wrestled the gun from him to prevent him from using it. They were arrested and charged with theft, and the white man went free.
The following Monday students returned to school. In the midst of a confrontation between a white student, Justin Barker, and a Black student, Robert Bailey—where Bailey was taunted for having been beaten up that weekend—a chaotic fray ensued. Barker was allegedly knocked down, punched, and kicked by a number of Black students. He was taken to the hospital for a few hours and was seen out socializing later that evening.
The six young people, including Mychal Bell were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy charges.
Many charge that DA’s handling of the case is evidence of a Jim Crow/1992/Emmit Till legal system at work.
Mychal Bell, 16, a former Jena High School football star, and five other black students had been facing the potential of up to 100 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder, conspiracy and other charges for the December beating of the white student, who was knocked unconscious but not hospitalized. The incident capped months of escalating racial tensions at the high school that began after several white youths hung nooses from a tree in the school courtyard in a taunt aimed at blacks.
There was conflicting testimony from witnesses about whether Bell was among a group of black students who allegedly jumped the victim.
There are a series of peculiarities around this case. The jury pool was entirely white, the defense rested without calling any witnesses, Bell’s parents were excluded from the courtroom Mychal has been in jail since December, unable to post $90,000 bail.
As of June 26th, the charges were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery, which together carry a maximum of 22 years in prison. Aggravated battery involves the use of a dangerous weapon, but no evidence of a gun, knife or other weapon was introduced.
As of June 26 Bell has been convicted and his case is up or appeal.
A group of Monroe defense lawyers have taken on the appeal of Mychal Bell, one of six black high school students known as the Jena six, convicted last month of beating a white fellow student.
Louis Scott, Bob Noel, Peggy Sullivan and Lee Perkins have agreed to work on Bell’s post-conviction matters in a case and trial Scott described as fraught with errors.
“Almost always when you have an unfair result, somewhere down the line you had an unfair process,” Scott said.
The fact that the May 20th Tribune report garnered the case national attention speaks to the importance of journalists and the attention that they can bring to an issue.
What if the Tribune never wrote about the Jena Six?
Peace to Howard Witt and all his journlistic del.ish.es.ness.
My question now is, where is the New York Times? Nightline? Newsweek?
What can you do to help?
1. Sign the petition at colorofchange.
2. Use this as a teaching opportunity to educate people on the importance of voting in national and local elections. DA’s are elected NOT appointed. In this case, the DA was instrumental in charging Bell as an adult, and pursing an attempted murder charge against him.
3. Send a letter to the DA and the Governor. Peep the template at the www.colorofchange.org.
===========
===========
What would you do if Bell was your son/brother/nephew?
What do the major papers have to lose by reporting on this case?
Perhaps they won’t have to, as Oprah has taken up the Jena 6 case.
==========
At Heavy In The Streets, DJ-Sorce 1 talks the talk with Girl Talk.
Part 3/3 of OnSmash’s video interview with 50 Cent.
RealTalkNY sits down for video clips with Mr. One Man Band himself, Swizz Beats.
VA – Smooth Jazz Tribute to Jill Scott
Talib Kweli + Dj Clinton Sparks – Blacksmith Mixtape Get Familiar
VA-DJ_Spair-A_Tribe_Called_Quest_Bootlegs_B_Sides_And_More-Bootleg-2007
Megadeth – United Abominations
Dilated Peoples – The Release Party
Sean_Price-Jesus_Price_Supastar-(Retail)-2007-[GroupRip]
Sean Price – Monkey Barz
L.L. Cool J – Bigger And Deffer
Milli Vanilli – Girl You Know It’s True
Lou Rawls – That’s Lou (1967)
Ultimate Breaks & Beats Volumes 1-25
De_La_Soul-De_La_Soul_is_Dead-1991
Flatlinerz-U.S.A._(Under_Satans_Authority)-1994
Hi-Five – Greatest Hits
Kraftwerk – Electric Cafe 1986
Boyz II Men Discography
CooleyHighHarmony
Christmas Interpretations
II
Evolution
Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya
Full Circle
Throwback Vol. 1
Legacy Deluxe Edition
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Boyz II Men
Winter/Reflections
The Remix Collection
Posted in GENERAL, SMOKE BREAK, STRAY SHOTS — Tags: Jena 6, Michael Vick
Tweet This
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
51 Comments
foul shit
Caught the story on Democracy Now..
foul shit..now that Vick is in spin
mode maybe, just maybe the power’s
that be will show some worthwhile
news to the citizens..highly unlikely..
the saga continues..
It’s amazing, but not surprising, that shit like this can still go down. What I don’t get is the time it took for the media vultures to get on it…seems tailor-made for a Sharpton campaign, why the delays? Where’s the watchdog groups–this story is compelling, so you think they’d get on it for the publicity…like the title states, I guess there’s sexier stories out there for our good newsfolk to cover. Great.
……
Ultimate Breaks and Beats 1-25…God yes. I got like half of them on vinyl
but I’m missing 10-12. Thanks dudes.
Been reading this for awhile and I must say I smh had when reading about the Jena 6. I stopped following the Vick case 2 weeks after it happen. Could care less.
Please, if you have;
?Killer Mike links album?
Thx in advance
paix
Utterly disgusting!!!….
i’ll sing the petition. that is crazy
o boyz ii men..thats a good look too.
TSS is major.
ur colorofchange links dont work
yeah the petitin link doesnt work. where can i find it?
http://www.colorofchange.org/
Should be fixed in the post as well.
All I could think about was what if this was my little bro.
More and more, that is the principal that guides my reaction/ thinking on these matters.
This doesn’t surprise me, not one bit. Instances like this, and Katrina (which was a man created incident) is where you really get a sense of what this country is about and stands for. Oppression, bigotry, racism is still rampant.
HOWW OKAY
Killer Mike links: Thx Man
by fullspectrum “August 27, 2007 @ 3:26 pm”
the killa
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O5R9WANY
Skulls and Roses (EP)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LAGE7X8A
MONSTER!!!
http://file2upload.com/download/7604/monstr.rar
i for got to put a space in for the link
“a dope story”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=edcSDN218LU
Peace
thx for ubb
it’s ok for killer mike links
i have, sorry
I’m with Trackstar..where are
Sharp(tone), Jesse and other
lead Blacks..since none of us
appointed them our Black leaders??
And folks wanna say, things
are getting better..
i’m from the UK, and Jena was featured on one of the current affair programmes a couple of months ago, filming in some famous old boys barber shop
they only took it as far as the noose incident though. the news on Bell is new to me
I’m waiting for Bill Cosby to show me the way, personally.
What else is expected! Sorry to say Black Folks still getting the shaft!! Mike Vick is a fool for what he did. Did his case need so much media coverage, personally, hell naw!!! Way more important shit happening in this part of the world. Will Jena six garner as much attention? I f…..g doubt it!!
People…A slaveowner’s face still fronts the $1 bill. This type of shit doesn’t shock me at all. The saddest part is that it’s happening at such a young level.
Al was down there a coupla weeks ago.
For the record.
First Genarlow, now this.
South needs to get their act together with their outrageous laws.
like chris rock said, “anything to keep your mind off the war…” cot damn shame this is…
thanks for the milli vanilli
Oxmo Puccino – Opera Puccino
Lyricist finest, Classic shit !!
Call him: the notoriox pucc’ ! lol
1998, a genius is born !!!
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/8818/oxmopuccinooprapuccinofsc2.jpg
1 Vision of life
2 Black Mafioso (interlude)
3 Hitman
4 Who can disclaim it!
5 Black fright
6 The child alone
7 Alias Jon Smoke
8 Few people know it…
9 Love & Jealousy
10 24 hours to live
11 Sacred Saturday Night
12 The day where you will leave
13 Bewitching
14 Black cyrano of bergerac (interlude)
15 Mensongeur [liar]
16 The Letter (so much thing to be said)
17 The law of the final point
18 Die one thousand times
http://rapidshare.com/files/6196999/Oxmo_Puccino_-_Op_ra_Puccino__1998_.rar
http://ifolder.ru/945905 – Love is dead
(second solo album)
http://rapidshare.com/files/6197248/Oxmo_Puccino_-
_Le_cactus_de_Siberie__2004_.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/6197361/Oxmo_Puccino_-_Le_cactus_de_Siberie__2004_.part2.rar
(third solo)
http://rapidshare.com/files/6197610/Oxmo_Puccino___The_Jazzbastards_-_Lipopette_Bar__2006_.rar !!!
http://rapidshare.com/files/6197248/Oxmo_Puccino_-_Le_cactus_de_Siberie__2004_.part1.rar
@ Aladin sane
Now, rapidshare links:
Ministry A.M.E.R – Two albums
http://rapidshare.com/files/3183009/Minist_re_A.M.E.R._-_Pourquoi_Tant_De_Haine__1992_.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/3182740/Mninist_re_A.M.E.R_-_95_200__1994_.rar
the news on Bell is new to me
========
Cool.
Means I am doing my
J.O.B.
Sage Poets – “buried treasures”
the wise poets of the street
http://rapidshare.com/files/22549118/lspdlr.rar.html
This is why I say to hell with Jesse, Oprah,Al, Bill and the rest of them. When its time from some real issues they go silent. Oprah aint did one show on this. Bill aint opened up his fucking mouth, and Sharptons perm is a no show.
Where is Big Bill Cosby, Uncle AL, Jump-off Jesse, Farrakhan gets a pass(health reasons)but the NOI don’t and finally Outspoken Obama at? Where Rusty Russ, Auntie Oprah or Conscious Common? They should have been rode on these fools?
It’s amazing how in this day and age that this is still happening. You would think that after all that this nation has gone through with Civil Rights and all, that things would change.
But then again, the Civil Rights movement isn’t ancient history. It happened what…30-40 years ago, so it’s not suprising that the bad blood is still there.
Oprah’s doing a show, APPARENTLY.
And she’s doing it SOON.
But hasn’t done it YET.
And THAT’S the problem.
I will of course die.
But I will be the one who stepped up.
Jump-off Jesse,
===========
Sh*t made my ab’s hurt from laughin.
Jump-Off Jesse for President T-shirts.
Gotty. You needs to do them sh*ts.
When Oprah does that show, if she ever does it, I guarantee that it’ll blow up.
That shit is infuriating. Im reading this as a pacific islander from Australia and wanna know how the Fuck this type of shit still goes on in 2007!!!
I mean no disrespect but the only other news we get from America is that another one of those brats is going to fuckin’ rehab.
Great story and coming from Canada,it’s a shame that I didn’t hear from this before.And I agree with the black leaders criticism,they’re just a bunch of house niggas who are in it for themselves.Yes,where is Bill Cosby??He just seems satisfied dissing hiphop.
Can we get a reup of the jill scott link, its dead?
that shit is frustrating.. A WHITE TREE???? what type of fucked up shit is that???… in australia that shit is unheard of.. yea out the front of my house i got an olive tree and only greek people are allowed to look at it!!
every community is gonna have people with differences… so… neck up cunts… buy a pack of cards and deal with it..
different colour skin = different punishment… thats sickening.. what a fucked up country.. yea ludacris said it “it’s safe to say the justice system’s FUCKED UP!”
*YONK*
Im getting my “More Jena 6, Less Michael Vick” shirt printed up right away!
You’ll probably here bout me behind bars next
yeah its sickening to see al sharpton and jesse jackson and their ilk making a huge riot about don imus and other such unimportant bullshit when things like this case continue unabated and cats like genarlow wilson still rot in jail
obviously the racism of that town is a huge part of it but thats not what infuriates me as much as that such things are ignored by the people purported to be defending minority/black rights in favor of publicity stunts like the imus fiasco or burying the n word…
@ Greaum
Merci! By the way you got anything of Kamelancien?
@ aladinsane – kamelancien
sorry no rapidshare links, all dead!
but it is no one very very good rapper, anyway, not in my favourite rappers, even if it is not bad but good if you want albums of the best French rappers, words/lyrics, translations, names or righteous man of information, you can
ask me and if I can make also with you, it’s cool, if listens to you of the rap that I listen in american rap, this it has a good overturns. TSShit!
so, links:
-Le Charme en personne (unik solo album) http://www.megaupload.com/fr/?d=FIV39D5A Password: scalp66 (double cd)
the password is just: scalp66
no “scalp66 (double cd)”
lol, but seriously !
peace
Dag I am surprised that the Aussies are taking Americans to task. When I was there the racial tensions between old school (Anglo) Aussies and the second wave of immigration (Lebanese, Greek, etc.) were still there. And the third wave of immigrants (Southeast Asia) was starting its own brand of racial tensions too. Definitely manifested itself in shit like Cronulla. I also found that Aussies are much more likely to say horribly racist things, they haven’t bought into the political correctness that pervades the U.S. and pushes the racism behind the scenes.
That doesn’t even begin to bring up the situation of the Aboriginal population which has been a freaking disaster of humanity.
Every country has their problems, believe that.
That doesn’t even begin to bring up the situation of the Aboriginal population which has been a freaking disaster of humanity.
=========
Global negro analysis is sexy!
QUE CHIDO¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
@ greum
Is cool, could you hit me with links where i can find dope French stuff, i’ll send you the illest Dutch productions, mail me @ insane.lad@gmail.com.
Take every word “black” and “white” out of the Jena story above. Read it again. This is not what it seems. Someone is always pulling the race card.