| The Jena Six, a group of young Black students in a small southern town, were severely punished by the Courts for possible participation in a schoolyard brawl. One of many unfair judgments was overturned, and some Americans rejoiced. Others understood the deeper dilemma. Conversations commenced. Protests are planned. All that is good.
However, what is not wonderful and brings me no joy is what I fear, the outcome. Americans seem frozen in time. I believe the plague that permeates American society will survive.
Supremacy sickens me. Preeminence is, for me, the profound issue. While many claim in this nation no one race feels a sense of superiority over the another, there is ample evidence to suggest some do. This story may speak to the situation; it is one of many that occur daily in this country. Any of us whose skin is light may wish to deny it, but ask a Black friend or neighbor, if you have one.
Days ago, after a too long delayed mass media coverage, the narrative immerged again. This time the spotlight fell on the Bayou State. The subject of white rule and the inevitable result, Black rebellion, became more public. The details buried in local news and neighborhoods for close to a year, came to the surface.
Last September, a black high school student requested the school's permission to sit beneath a broad, leafy tree in the hot schoolyard. Until then, only white students sat there.
The next morning, three nooses were hanging from the tree. The black students responded en masse. Justin Purvis, the kid who first sat under the tree, told filmmaker Jacquie Soohen: "They said, 'Y'all want to go stand under the tree?' We said, 'Yeah.' They said, 'If you go, I'll go. If you go, I'll go.' One person went, the next person went, everybody else just went."
Then the police and the district attorney showed up. Substitute teacher Michelle Rogers recounts: "District Attorney Reed Walters proceeded to tell those kids that 'I could end your lives with the stroke of a pen.'"
Indeed, the District Attorney proceeded to do as he threatened. The town's people stood by. As bad went to worse. Injustice piled onto injustice garnered the attention of a public reluctant to accept what is standard in this country. Racism is rampant.
I believe we must ask ourselves, why in America, or anywhere else on this Earth, might someone feel a need to ask for permission to sit under a tree on public property. I believe that aspect of this narrative alone is, dreadful. When a source of beauty, light, and the symbol for life is designated "For Whites Only," this says more than my heart can bear. I do not solely struggle with the age of the defendant, the criminal charges, the beating or battering of individuals, white or black. For me, the greater concern, the one that causes me to weep is what is often forgotten in news reports.
In this country, citizens are reticent to admit to their own bigotry. White citizens gleefully claim this nation is colorblind. However, if you are Black, step back. If you are Brown, get down. On the ground you go. Pick the crops, or scrub the floors, just do not sit under that tree.
Details differ each time we open our eyes, nonetheless, the saga is the same. Whites want what they want when and how they want it. If Blacks dare to threaten the delicate "balance," even if they ask permission to walk on the path Caucasians occupy, crosses are burned, nooses hung from trees, and the violence unfolds.
People are injured. Some enter prison. No matter the circumstance, whites fare far better than Blacks. On each occasion, when Blacks and whites meet, the question of fairness fills the air. Individuals and families question the fairness of a judicial decision. Slowly, over time, the word spreads; yet, the actual situation is hushed.
As I listen to discussion after discussion I am haunted by the fact that in most reports Journalists, Civil Rights Leaders, historians, literary agents, the little guy or gal on the street, or even the victims themselves dismiss what for me is most daunting. People, Black or White, Yellow or Brown, Red or Green, felt a need to ask for permission to sit under a tree.
It is as though even nature is restricted. "For Whites Only" signs settles into every nuance of life. On September 7, 2007, the story broke throughout the land. I listened to the tale on the radio as I arose that morning. I was grateful. National Public Radio shared the scandalous drama and made mention of what for me was the essence of the yarn.
[T]he black students who sat under the tree had asked the principal's permission to do so.
The account I heard told on that date, addressed more of the significant minutiae people rather discuss. How old was Mychal Bell? Might he have been tried as a juvenile? How badly was Justin Barker, a white student beaten. White students were not as severely punished as Black learners were? All this is true, pertinent, and imperative. We must thrash out each and every aspect of this case.
Yet, if we focus on the symptoms and miss the essence, I believe this scenario will be as similar occurrences in the past, a missed opportunity. The plight of the Jena Six will be over another lesson unlearned.
As the coverage increases, and I read more reports, I am reminded of what we wish to forget. Days turn to night. I watch and listen. Television Journalists clamor. Pundits shout. Social Scientists prophesize. Average people predict. Presidential candidates weigh in. Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree, an advisor to the defendants in the Jena Six case speaks. He too is frustrated by what society forgets.
Collins: And our Sean Callebs is joining us now live this morning from Jena, Louisiana. So, Sean, we saw a little bit of a reaction from people who live in the area. Overall, how do they think this whole process has gone so far?
Callebs: Well, we went to a fair that was held here in Jena over the weekend and we probably tried to talk to 30 people on camera. Only one would speak with us. Many of them unsolicited would actually say to us, you know what, we didn't think that Mychal Bell should have been tried as an adult to begin with, but we're really upset at what they view as outside agitation. Meaning the media coming in, focusing attention on this, and to a big -- in a big way, the civil rights demonstrations planned here.
To show you the kind of press this is getting, this is the local paper. This is the big headline, "Jena prepares to rally." This is this morning. And if you look down here, about three column inches is the O.J. story. So, it really puts the Jena 6 story in perspective in this community. And quickly, a couple of points. We did have a chance to speak with the D.A.'s office and so far the D.A. has not re-filed charges in juvenile court and there's been no movement on a bond hearing for Mychal Bell.
Collins: All right, Sean, we're glad you're there following that one for us out of Jena, Louisiana. Sean Callebs, thank you. Want to talk a little bit more about this morning with Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree. He's an advisor to the defendants in the Jena 6 case. Thanks for being with us, Mr. Ogletree. We know there's a hearing going on right now, on whether or not the judge in this case should actually recuse himself. Your thoughts on that.
Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law School: Well, there are a lot of reasons the judge should recuse himself. And this criminal justice case has been a colossal failure of justice for these young men. The judge has made mistakes in allowing the charges to go forward. Having this man in jail since last year, Mychal Bell. And now the appeals court's involved in it. So this is a case that was waiting to have some fresh air and publicity. I think now it's very likely this D.A. will try to re- bring these charges. And I hope it means that these other young men will be tried as they should be tried, a schoolyard brawl with a suspension, not federal -- not serious felony charges.
Collins: You do think it's unlikely that D.A. Walters will move forward?
Ogletree: One of the problems that the D.A. in this case has been pointing fingers at these young black men since the schoolyard incidents. We forget there were nooses hung in a tree. We forget an African-American male in that community was hit on the head with a beer bottle. We forget that a gun was drawn on one of these young men.
There's a whole series of failures of the system. And I think the district attorney is being watched nationally. The judge is being watched nationally. Some good lawyers are being brought into the case now. And I hope that these young men will not only avoid criminal charges, but they'll be back in school before this year is out.
Collins: I don't think everybody forgets about the way that this whole case started, certainly with the nooses. But let me ask you this, your defendant not being tried in an adult court now, possibly as we've said, going to juvenile court system, how will that change things for him?
Ogletree: Well, it will change dramatically. First of all, the lawyer who represented him before did a poor job of challenging the government's evidence. Didn't call any witnesses. Didn't investigate the case. And now, hopefully, a judge, a juvenile court judge, will be able to listen to the evidence dispassionately, hear Mychal Bell's defense and come back with the judgment of not responsible in the juvenile terms. So I think it's going to make a huge difference. But the most important thing is that he should be released.
There's no reason he should be in jail now having been found not guilty not guilty of some charges, having had some reversed, and facing no charges right now. I think he should be released. And that might change the whole method of this case as well.
Collins: You know, you have to wonder as you watch sort of the process and the way that this story developed, if there was any responsibility that should have been placed on the adults in this case. The adults at the school. People in the community to help sort of diffuse tensions between the kids at the school before it got to this point.
Ogletree: Well, I think Jena never imagined that this case would have the national, international attention it has generated. They never imagined that you'd see civil rights leader, national press coming and watching. And if you look at the school board, which revoked -- reversed the principal's decision to punish those who hung nooses in the tree, if you look at the apathy of the community when these black kids complained about being treated differently, adults played a significant role. And adults are going to have to cure it.
If they don't think there's a problem of race in Jena, they're not living in the 21st century. And I think hopefully the good news is that black and white families will come together, live together and they'll be a positive result after this case is resolved, hopefully in the next couple of months.
Collins: Yes, we certainly hope so. All right. We'll continue to follow this story as always right here on CNN. Charles Ogletree of Harvard Law School, thanks for your time this morning.
Ogletree: Thank you. While Harvard Professor Ogletree and Cable News Network Broadcaster Heidi Collins remember the specifics, they too forget what for me is most telling. Why might a young man or woman enrolled in school need to ask for permission to sit under a tree on campus. In a country with a Constitution that decries "All men are created equal," why would any of us feel compelled to request consent to place ourselves in the shade of an olive branch, an oak bough, a maple limb that quietly graces the grounds of our school. Yet, in America, Black students know what Caucasians shutter to confess. People are separate, separated, and treated as though they are not equal.
African Americans, Negroes are regarded as inferior. They are wanted only to serve the needs of those that think them selves supreme. We have not progressed much beyond the days of Reconstruction.
As the citizens of Jena prepare for trial and for a protest, Confederate flags fly. Symbols of support for slavery fill the air. Authentic conversation is stifled. We wish to think that there has been a change. Some muse drastic measures have been taken. Today, Americas Black citizens are free. In a democracy, we question justice and work for civil liberties. However, as long as a Black person, man, woman, or child senses he or she must seek approval to sit and enjoy the serenity of a tree, nothing has changed. Nothing will. Circumstances may be different. The dynamics are not. When Black congregate where whites wish to be the principle is fight or flight.
Update: The rally is realized. Thousands of people from throughout the country came to stand in support of the Jena Six. Civil Rights leaders cry out; justice for Black citizens is not comparable to what whites experience. The standards are dissimilar. The dilemma is, even as all of America watched and witnessed what occurred in Jena today, for the most part, the townspeople did not. Many or most denied there is a problem in Jena. Citizens of this small community felt as though they were singled out.
It must be said that it is a far different story for this town of Jena, Louisiana, 85 percent white, 15 percent black. Many of the white residents feel that this town has been descended upon, it has been portrayed in an unfair light. They remind us again -- they remind us again that there was a victim. There was a victim in that December 4th attack, is how they term it, an attack in that school, Jena High School, where the march is ultimately going to lead and end up.
Many white persons involved in the incident were not willing to speak on camera. Cable News Network asked public officials to share their perspective of the Jena Six story. However, while invitations were extended, replies were not received. Journalist Tony Harris, spoke from Jena, Louisiana and stated . . .
I just want to make the point, again and again and again, we have tried diligently to get the other view of this story from [District Attorney] Reed Walters, tried to get him here today. We tried to get him on the program yesterday. We also tried to get Murphy McMillan, who is the mayor of Jena, to join us to talk about this case and the impact on his community. And we've been unsuccessful. We will continue to make those calls and try to get them on the program with us from Jena.
Those that did speak were friends, family, and others familiar with the pain of being Black in Jena, the misery of being Black in America. We must understand that this is not unique to the South. Subtle or subterranean as it may be, if your skin is dark and you live in the United States, life is not cozy, comfortable, or commonsensical. Appearances are often nothing more than the adjustments made in an unjust society. Perhaps, others said this better than I. I invite your review of the rally.
Thousands Rally in Louisiana to Support 'Jena 6'
By Peter Whoriskey and William Branigin
Washington Post.
Thursday, September 20, 2007; 3:46 PM
JENA, La., Sept. 20 -- Traveling in caravans of buses and cars, thousands of demonstrators from across the nation converged Thursday on this rural town riven by racial discord to protest what they view as the excessively harsh prosecution of six black high school students charged with beating a white classmate unconscious.
Spurred by radio hosts, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other African American figures, the mostly black crowd chanted, "Free the Jena Six," and, "Enough is enough."
Organizers said the vast turnout, reminiscent of the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s, represented a broader protest against what many blacks see as unfair treatment in courts across the country.
"There's Jenas in Atlanta, there's Jenas in New York, there's Jenas in Florida, and there are Jenas all over Texas," Sharpton told a raucous crowd Thursday morning. "This is the beginning of the 21st Century civil rights movement."
Suggesting that racism in the United States has become more sophisticated since the days of Jim Crow, Sharpton added, "We come to Jena to face James Crow, Jr., Esquire."
Also on hand were Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who complained that "the Department of Justice in Washington has gone silent" on the situation in Jena.
"We need federal intervention," Jackson told the demonstrators, many of them clad in black to show their solidarity. He called for "hearings on the matter of criminal justice in Jena" and other towns across the nation. "There is a Jena everywhere," Jackson said. "In Louisiana, Jena is just a biopsy of the cancer."
King said some punishment may be in order for the six defendants but that "the justice system isn't applied the same to all crimes and all people."
Apparently, fairness, righteousness, and the characteristics that define equality are not bestowed upon all in a similar manner. If you are Black, in America, get back. The front of the line, the shade of a tree, the sanctity of a schoolyard, are not for you. Nature, as all else that is truly beautiful in this land is labeled, "For Whites Only."
References to Racism, Jena Six . . .
Case of 'Jena Six' Tears at Small Town's Harmony. Morning Edition. National Public Radio. September 7, 2007
CNN Newsroom Transcripts. September 17, 2007
La. Town Fells 'White Tree,' but Tension Runs Deep, Black Teens' Case Intensifies Racial Issues. By Darryl Fears. Washington Post.?Saturday, August 4, 2007; Page A03
pdf La. Town Fells 'White Tree,' but Tension Runs Deep, Black Teens' Case Intensifies Racial Issues. By Darryl Fears. Washington Post.?Saturday, August 4, 2007; Page A03
CNN Transcripts. Cable News Network. September 20, 2007
Thousands Rally in Louisiana to Support 'Jena 6.' By Peter Whoriskey and William Branigin. Washington Post. Thursday, September 20, 2007; 3:46 PM |
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