Oh Jena
U.S. attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related
JENA, Louisiana (CNN) — There is no link between the nooses hung by white students outside a Louisiana high school and the alleged beating of a white student by black teens, according to the U.S. attorney who reviewed investigations into the incidents.
The events, though likely symptoms of racial tension, were separate incidents, said Donald Washington, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.
The events occurred three months apart last year in Jena, Louisiana.
“A lot of things happened between the noose hanging and the fight occurring, and we have arrived at the conclusion that the fight itself had no connection,” he said.
Thousands of protesters are descending on the town of 3,000 to demonstrate Thursday against the way the cases have been handled.
Many said they are angry the six black students, dubbed the “Jena 6,” are being treated more harshly than the white students who hung the nooses. The white students were suspended from school but did not face criminal charges. The protesters argue they should have been charged with a hate crime. The black students face charges of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy in the schoolyard beating.
[...]
While critics contend the nooses and the beating are two sides of the same problem, U.S. Attorney Washington said a direct link would be hard to prove.
There was “no connection that a prosecutor could take into court and say, ‘You know, judge or jury, we’re prosecuting these white kids for these nooses, and look at all the damage they caused downstream, all the way down to the fight at Jena High School on December 4,’” he told CNN’s Kyra Phillips on Tuesday.
“We could not prove that, because the statements of the students themselves do not make any mention of nooses, of trees, of the ‘N’ word or any other word of racial hate.” (more…)
For me, when I read about the Atlanta city council supporting the Jena students, students from both Howard and Atlanta making the trip to Jena, bloggers from coast to coast screaming about this and even the Alphas jumping into the frey, I just wish that there was this much noise over the daily murders of our young Black men and women starting with well over 100 or so murders in New Orleans.
Call me a broken record, but the contrasts are insulting.
The city of Atlanta alone has a close to 50% unsolved homicide rate yet their city council wants to speak out on Jena????
Related:
Jena Six and the predictable blog swarm
Putting a face on the statistics (Part IX)
Putting a face on the statistics (Part VIII)
Putting a face on the statistics (part VII)
Putting a face on the statistics (part VI)
Putting a face on the statistics (part V)
Putting a face on the statistics (part IV)
Putting a face on the statistics (part III)
Putting a face on the statistics (part II)
Putting a face on the statistics
And this…
I just saw the video on TV~
(AP/Chron.com) DALLAS — Two suspects are sought after security video shows a store clerk in Dallas being shot through the front door during a robbery.
Police say the clerk survived Saturday night’s attack at a cell phone store.
The security tape — provided to the media by Dallas police — shows the clerk dashing outside and trying to hold the door against a suspect who’s still inside.
The tape shows glass breaking as a bullet is fired through the door — wounding the clerk in the chest area — as the suspect runs out.
Authorities believe the suspect joined a second man who was waiting in the parking lot. The pair fled.
The clerk, who’s seen on a cell phone, manages to walk toward about half-a dozen people who are nearby, then staggers back to the store area.
A woman who appears to be concerned is later seen approaching the clerk. (source)
This guy was gripping his chest and staggering while a group of the fellas sat there and did nothing.
And you wonder why it is so hard to get small businesses and banks and other “economic opportunities” in the hood.
Am I ranting? Yes.
Where dey daddy at?
It is racism if this Bell Negroe got slaps on the knuckles for beating up black folk (conjecture, for we know not what his two previous battery convictions as a juvenile were for) and then thrown under the jail for participating in the beating of a white individual.
“The judge has refused to lower his $90,000 bail, citing Bell’s criminal record, which includes four juvenile offenses — two simple battery charges among them.”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/ 0…=rss_topstories
Lady what is your husband’s name? He ain’t my husband, he my baby daddy.
To hades with these baby daddy Negroes, purge them from our mist.
`
Comment by NSangoma | September 20, 2007
Call me a broken record,
You’re a broken record…
I think people are focusing on the nooses too much. The injustice of being tried as an adult on attempted murder charges for a fight is enough. Especially when white students in similar situations were not charged.
Comment by Will | September 20, 2007
And they are supposed to be on our side??
No More Nooses: Thousands Storm Louisiana Town to Free Jena 6
http://diversityinc.com/public/2476.cfm
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Comment by NSangoma | September 20, 2007
“I just wish that there was this much noise over the daily murders of our young Black men and women starting with well over 100 or so murders in New Orleans.”
a lot of us do. but does that mean we should stop making our voices heard in regards to the cases that grab media attention? no– just the opposite…
sometimes you look hard for reasons to go against the grain, good or bad, right or wrong. unsolved murder rates being sky high in atlanta (or philly, or anywhere else) doesn’t negate the fact that injustice does actually happen in america and that it is actually racially provoked a lot of the time.
your constant crusade to prove otherwise is tiring and at times counterproductive.
it’s best if i just stop participating.
bless.
Comment by rhythm | September 20, 2007
but does that mean we should stop making our voices heard…
Who said that you should stop? Did you read my post on the blogswarm?
unsolved murder rates being sky high in atlanta (or philly, or anywhere else) doesn’t negate the fact that injustice does actually happen in america and that it is actually racially provoked a lot of the time.
Again, this is not about negation, but consistency. You cannot cry, march and hold vigils when a White person offends a black person while not being just as angry and emotional (I’ll say that again–”just as angry and emotional”) when it happens everyday at the hands of some Black kid shooting another Black kid.
I just heard today that there are some Black folks out there who are wearing Black today in support of the Jena 6. When was the last time such a thing was done for folks that were killed just in Philly last week? Where is the freakin’ solidarity for those folks, or is this some unspoken outrage trapped in some dark corner of the blogosphere?
The truth here is that you hold White folks at a much higher standard when executing the law than you do your own (which explains all the silence on cities like Atlanta and Philly which are governed by Blacks). If this is tiring to you, then I think there is nothing more to be said.
Comment by Duane | September 20, 2007
The truth is Whites deserve our wrath. You act like they aren’t a special case. Stop being such a house nigga and support the struggle. I guess you couldn’t shuffle far enough to get to Jena. Get with it or you might become one of those black on black statistics you decry so much!
Comment by NC Sigma | September 20, 2007
The truth is Whites deserve our wrath
I give you this much, at least you did not hide your true racist feelings behind a lil’ ol’ march.
Comment by Duane | September 20, 2007
NC Sigma— Ignorant statement. It seems to me the struggle only emcompasses easy girly targets. Let’s be ’bout it and tackle some real deal stuff… How many of you “strugglers” are down to march to the nearest hood of your choice (Take your pick… Oakland, Richmond,CA, Atlanta, Detroit, D.C…
and confront a grilled faced thug who’s been part of terrorizing the hood for decades ? I didn’t think so… How ’bout puttin yo’ foot in some waywar youngsta’s behind. Scured huh… So you keep followin’ Jesse and Al and keep punkin’ white folks. For what ? Please.. that’s too easy. Who’s really down with la Raza Negoro !!!
Comment by AntMoOAK | September 20, 2007
“According to court documents, someone hit Barker from behind, knocking him out, and then others began to kick and stomp his “lifeless” body. He spent about three hours in a local emergency room for treatment of injuries to his head and face.
Three months prior to that attack, Bell committed two violent crimes while on probation for a Christmas Day battery in 2005, according to testimony. Later that same week, he led the Jena Giants to a shutout victory in a football game against the Buckeye Panthers.
Bell was adjudicated — the juvenile equivalent to a conviction — of battery on Sept. 2 and criminal damage to property on Sept. 3, said Cynthia Bradford, LaSalle Parish deputy clerk.
A few days later, on Sept. 8, Bell rushed 12 times for 108 yards and scored three touchdowns — one of the best performances of the year for the standout athlete.”
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS01/708250317/1002
“While it’s undisputed that Mychal Bell was an honor roll student, it is now also proved that he had a criminal record, including violent crimes, starting two years before the Justin Barker beating.
Battery - 12/25/2005
Criminal damage to property - 7/25/2006
Battery - 9/2006
Criminal damage to property - 9/2006
This explains the fact that Bell’s bail was much higher than the others.”
http://pursuingholiness.com/2007/08/28/the-jena-6-mychal-bells-criminal-history/
“As expected, the media picks up Mychal Bell’s juvenile history to distract from the nooses hanging from the “white” tree and the punishments applied to the black students and no punishment for the white students.
Prosecutor: “Jena Six” defendant had four juvenile convictions
8/25/2007, 6:36 p.m. CDT
The Associated Press
JENA, La. (AP) — The teenager convicted of beating a student at Jena High School in December 2006 had been convicted as a juvenile for attacking someone a year earlier, then committed three more crimes while on probation for that one, prosecutors say.
That makes Mychal Bell’s aggravated second-degree battery conviction his fifth conviction for a violent crime, state District Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. said Friday.
Because of that record, the judge said, he will not reduce the $90,000 bond he set for Mychal Bell, one of six black students arrested in the attack which left a white student bleeding and unconscious.”
http://www.vanessabyers.net/video/index.html
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Comment by NSangoma | September 20, 2007
“According to court documents, someone hit Barker from behind, knocking him out, and then others began to kick and stomp his “lifeless” body. He spent about three hours in a local emergency room for treatment of injuries to his head and face.
Three months prior to that attack, Bell committed two violent crimes while on probation for a Christmas Day battery in 2005, according to testimony. Later that same week, he led the Jena Giants to a shutout victory in a football game against the Buckeye Panthers.
Bell was adjudicated — the juvenile equivalent to a conviction — of battery on Sept. 2 and criminal damage to property on Sept. 3, said Cynthia Bradford, LaSalle Parish deputy clerk.
A few days later, on Sept. 8, Bell rushed 12 times for 108 yards and scored three touchdowns — one of the best performances of the year for the standout athlete.”
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS01/708250317/1002
“While it’s undisputed that Mychal Bell was an honor roll student, it is now also proved that he had a criminal record, including violent crimes, starting two years before the Justin Barker beating.
Battery - 12/25/2005
Criminal damage to property - 7/25/2006
Battery - 9/2006
Criminal damage to property - 9/2006
This explains the fact that Bell’s bail was much higher than the others.”
http://pursuingholiness.com/2007/08/28/the-jena-6-mychal-bells-criminal-history/
“As expected, the media picks up Mychal Bell’s juvenile history to distract from the nooses hanging from the “white” tree and the punishments applied to the black students and no punishment for the white students.
Prosecutor: “Jena Six” defendant had four juvenile convictions
8/25/2007, 6:36 p.m. CDT
The Associated Press
JENA, La. (AP) — The teenager convicted of beating a student at Jena High School in December 2006 had been convicted as a juvenile for attacking someone a year earlier, then committed three more crimes while on probation for that one, prosecutors say.
That makes Mychal Bell’s aggravated second-degree battery conviction his fifth conviction for a violent crime, state District Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. said Friday.
Because of that record, the judge said, he will not reduce the $90,000 bond he set for Mychal Bell, one of six black students arrested in the attack which left a white student bleeding and unconscious.”
http://www.vanessabyers.net/video/index.html
`
Comment by NSangoma | September 20, 2007
This matter is local & the locals should handle it. They have to live there. These fools following the pied pipers of racedom, Sharpton, Jackson, Waters, et al should have the nerve to march on the hoods of Oakland, D.C. & others. But I guess our people killing each other like mad dogs is no big deal. There’s no feel good media circus to be found in that story.
Comment by Mandinka | September 20, 2007
I’m reading this blog and asking myself where do we begin. I went to support the Jena 6 and I will be more than willing to support the injustices in my home state. Where do we go to become more informed about what’s going on in our cities or what’s happening to our communities and youth?
Jena may have been the beginning of awareness for some so don’t knock what happened and what people took a stand for. Maybe this one thing will opened the eyes if those who are NOT AWARE!
Comment by WakeUpAtlanta | September 21, 2007
Where do we go to become more informed about what’s going on in our cities or what’s happening to our communities and youth?
You start by getting to know the kids in your neighborhood. Parents in the community can get together and sponsor something like a barbecue for the kids. Use this as a time to mix and mingle finding out their likes, dislikes, aspirations, etc. The key here is making it a point to know the kids in your area.
Another thing that can be done is spend some time volunteering with organizations that are reaching out to the kids in your community. When I lived in Atlanta, we were part of one of the largest churches in the city. Anyway, they put out a call for all the men to get involved in their mentorship program. Out of the hundreds that threw up their hands in support, only about 3 (including me) men showed up. Mind you, this was an organization that worked with hundreds of kids in the area. Mind you, this was an organization that worked with hundreds of kids in the area and at the time was largely staffed by women.
Yes, you do have your exceptions out there like 100 Black Men, Black fraternities/sororities, etc., but there is only but so much they can do. This is why the role of YOU, the individual is so key.
Growing up, my parents also took me on regular visits to see the elderly and prison inmates. Also, since my parents were Sunday school teachers, every Saturday was spent going to the homes of students checking up on them and getting to know the parents. To this very day, these kids (now adults) still remember my parents.
Lastly, you don’t fight crime by holding vigils, marches or any other event that basically amounts to a media grab. Crime is largely fought successfully by taking the time to know these individuals and their families IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD. There are kids (now adults) that I can point to now that were prone to find trouble, but are now either happily married or responsible adults partly because I spent time with them.
Jena may have been the beginning of awareness for some so don’t knock what happened and what people took a stand for. Maybe this one thing will opened the eyes if those who are NOT AWARE!
Lastly, I never knocked what happened in Jena (if you would have read anything else I have wrote on it, you will see that I supported it). Also, I don’t buy the ‘I’m not aware what goes on in my own city’ line. You have local television, the Internet, local newspapers, and most importantly REAL PEOPLE to inform you on what goes on in your city. All it took for you is one headline about Jena and you were on the fastest thing moving towards Louisiana.
Comment by Duane | September 21, 2007