Jena Six, an invitation to help

Folks, there is so much to learn and write about ... in the wide wide world and in our land here. This land is your land. This land is my land. We've got to take it back. It's like Take Back the Night marches. Take back the land. Take back America.

Right now I want to write about a small portion of that land. I don't think any of us on this blog has written about the Jena Six ... maybe PolCat has ... can't remember.

In a short summary, the Jena Six are a group of African American teenagers in Jena, Louisiana who have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a European American fellow student. And, I think, one of the Jena Six is actually charged with second degree battery charges - Mychal Bell. Which I think is outrageous if you read about the case at all. If you want to know more, go here. Second degree battery requires the use of a "deadly weapon" and the prosecution is claiming that the defendant's use of his sneakers (via kicking the victim) was using a deadly weapon.

In reading about it and listening to interviews on the radio (Democracy Now was doing a full show of interviews today) ... it seems like the usual thing is happening in this case -- the Black teenagers are being punished severely for reacting to something that was outrageously racist. Some Black teenagers DARED to sit under a tree that normally the White students sat under. Next day: nooses were hanging from the tree. If the European Americans cannot understand that this is not a jest (as it was called by a citizen in Jena on today's broadcast of Democracy Now) ... NOT A JEST ... it's a stone cold racist act ... highly provocative ... if European Americans cannot understand that, they need to study their history books. They need to walk in some other people's shoes somehow. They need some real education.

I believe this is an important civil rights issue. There was a victory of sorts the other day when the judge ruled that Mychal Bell should be tried as a juvenile not an adult and reduced his bail.

I still don't know why there are no European Americans on trial for their part in the hate crime and acts that escalated the situation. Why?

There's still a long road ahead for the Jena Six. I just donated some money to their defense. I think it's that important. I invite you to do the same. Here's where you can donate money.

Tomorrow is also a National Day of Action for the Jena Six.

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