The Jena Six

The Jena Six were six black teenagers in Jena, Louisiana that were convicted of beating a white student at their high school. This case has been called an example of racial injustice in the United States. The defendants were charged with way to high of an offense for this fight and were being unfairly treated throughout the whole process. Racial tensions were at a high in Jena after this incident and there were many violent acts between blacks and whites that took place. Students at Jena High School were caught putting nooses around a tree in the courtyard and were expelled at first, but then after being evaluated by the school board, they were only suspended. People in Jena, Louisiana feel like after the Jena 6, they are now known as one of the most racist places in the nation and I feel if they want that image changed they need to take control of the situations like the school yard nooses better. 

It seems pretty obvious that there is racial discrimination going on towards blacks in the area, by how the punishments for them are way more serious than for whites. Mychal Bell was a perfect example of this injustice. He was only 16 at the time and was tried as an adult for this assault on a white student. Bell was also initially charged with attempted second degree murder until it was later reduced. If this exact situation happened, but it was white kids assaulting a black kid, would this all-white jury come up with the same charge and conviction?

This incident created a huge amount of protesting all across the U.S. to help bring awareness to this issue of racism. These protesters caught the attention of many and it helped to point out the problems that were still going on with our judicial systems. They were able to create a disturbance that has been covered extensively in the media. This was an unfair situation for the kids involved in the Jena Six. They were charged excessively and as adults, which is unjust and just goes to show the racial inequality that people still have to deal with in our society today. Jena Six brought to light the many issue that are still being dealt with in communities and it also brought together people that stood up for the cause and protested for what was described as “one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in years”.

The video below is done by ESPN Outside The Lines and goes into depth on the Jena 6 situation. Jena is a majority white community and it is said to be the land that the civil rights movement forgot, until know. The issue brought to light the injustices going on in Jena and showed people coming together to help fight for what they believed is right. The Jena Six were unjustly treated and to me, it is a clear act of racial discrimination.