Jena

It does my heart good to see that there are still those times when the injustice speaks loudly enough that it galvanizes people to action. This is especially true in this case, when many of those who got involved were younger people. Of course, I'm talking about the Jena 6. See, e.g., Jena Ignites a Movement. There was the big rally in Jena, Louisiana, and many other places across the country, including the Philly area. Region adds a voice to Jena protests.

As Gary Younge of The Nation wrote, 'Jena Is America':

'Jena is America,' says Alan Bean, executive director of Friends of Justice, who has been working with the Jena Six. 'The new Jim Crow is the criminal justice system and its impact on poor people in general and people of color in particular. We don't always get the exotic trimmings like the nooses.'

And America responded.

Sure, the issues in the Jena case may not be perfectly clear-cut, but neither is life. The reality is that racism is alive & well. All you have to do is see the backlash from some of the racists out there, who are promoting retaliation against the Jena teens, see Neo-Nazi Hate Group Posts Personal Information, Threatens Jena 6 (no link to actual hate site is provided). As was noted in Jena 6 case isn't perfect, but it's clear, the observation was made:

What's far less murky in the Jena 6 case is that this is one of unequal justice. Far harsher criminal charges were brought against the black youths for fighting than the white students for similar infractions. What's true also is that all of the students equally have used poor judgment and all should be held accountable. But considering the circumstances, none of them should have to pay with their lives by possibly facing long prison terms. And that's what the black students are facing.

And one final note on this -- I especially like the fact that this issue was first given voice through the use of blogs. Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune describes, Blogs help drive Jena protest:

There is no single leader. There is no agreed schedule. Organizers aren't even certain where everyone is supposed to gather, let alone use the restroom. The only thing that is known for sure is that thousands of protesters are boarding buses at churches, colleges and community centers across the country this week, headed for this tiny dot on the map of central Louisiana.

What could turn out to be one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in years is set to take place here Thursday, when Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, popular black radio talk show hosts and other celebrities converge in Jena to protest what they regard as unequal treatment of African-Americans in this racially fractured Deep South town.

Yet this will be a civil rights protest literally conjured out of the ether of cyberspace, of a type that has never happened before in America—a collective national mass action grown from a grassroots word-of-mouth movement spread via Internet blogs, e-mails, message boards and talk radio.

Jackson, Sharpton and other big-name civil rights figures, far from leading this movement, have had to scramble to catch up. So, too, has the national media, which has only recently noticed a story that has been agitating many black Americans for months.

See also, the field negro. This is particularly inspiring, because we know that the press doesn't act as a reporter of news much these days, instead preferring to serve in the role of parrot for the Administration, when not bombarding us with the entertainment news of the day. It's nice to know that there is still a way for us to get the real news, with individuals being able to spread the word.

For more on the story, including a Petition, see Color of Change, Jena Six.

* Tony Auth, NYTimes

Tags: Civil Liberties, News, News and Media, Law, Jena 6, Racism