For more info on the Jena Six start here.
There’s a great overview of the case by Loyola human rights lawyer Bill Quigley – Injustice In Jena As Nooses Hang From The “White Tree”. The background information is excellent – go read the whole thing – although I’d take issue with a few of the conclusions he seems to want the reader to draw. For example,
But blacks in this area of Louisiana have little political power. The ten person all-male government of the parish has one African-American member. The nine member all-male school board has one African American member. (A phone caller to the local school board trying to find out the racial makeup of the school board was told there was one “colored” member of the board). There is one black police officer in Jena and two black public school teachers.
Jena, with a population of less than 3000, is the largest town in and parish (county) seat of LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. There are about 350 African Americans in the town. LaSalle has a population of just over 14,000 people – 12% African-American.
Okay, so black folks have little political power – but what offices they do hold are in proportion to the population. Jena has about 3000 residents, 350 are black – that’s roughly 10%. LaSalle Parish is about 12% black. So I don’t find anything untoward or shocking with a ten person local government only having only one African-American member, or with a nine member school board with only one African-American on it. That’s right in line with the population, so what’s the problem? Has there been voter suppression? Less than 10% of the businesses in LaSalle Parish are black owned, but if the number is near 10 percent, then that’s still very much in line with the African-American population of the area and not at all shocking or discriminatory. There’s plenty of discrimination in this story already; these statistics do not illustrate more.
Another issue that I think he overplayed is the fact that “Bell’s parents, Melissa Bell and Marcus Jones, were not even allowed to attend the trial despite their objections, because they were listed as potential witnesses. The white victim, though a witness, was allowed to stay in the courtroom.” I don’t understand why Bell’s parents were called as witnesses, and I can’t help but wonder if that was deliberate because of the railroading their son has received. But surely Mr. Quigley knows that Barker being permitted to stay was not because he was white, it was because he was the victim; as such the law permits him to stay in the courtroom throughout the proceedings.
There is so much – well, all - about this case to legitimately protest, that I am perplexed why some are exaggerating and adding irrelevant facts to prove racism where racism has already been proved. The facts are damning all on their own; why not stick to them?
It was very disturbing to learn that
The all-white jury which was finally chosen included two people friendly with the District Attorney, a relative of one of the witnesses and several others who were friends of prosecution witnesses.
Again, given the demographics of LaSalle Parish, it’s not shocking that the jury was all-white. But I’m shocked that friends and relatives of the DA and witnesses were permitted. Why didn’t Blane Williams challenge them? I’m so disappointed in Williams that I don’t even know how to express it. It’s incredible to think that he believed this was such a slam-dunk that no defense was necessary, especially when several of the 6 person jury were already friendly with the prosecution. I seriously doubt his decision was racist, after all he is African-American himself. But it was terrible judgment.
That there is racism in Jena is beyond dispute. The charges themselves are ample evidence; expulsion from school would have been an appropriate punishment for fighting. The fact that whites have gotten off basically scot-free for exactly the same offense where Robert Bailey is concerned is further proof. And the allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of the Jena Six are a clear example of bald-faced demagoguery; the old Klan standby of white women needing to be defended from black men. It’s disgusting that people still try to play that card.
The more people talking about this story, the better. More public scrutiny is just the disinfectant that LaSalle Parish and Jena need. I get Google News alerts so I don’t miss anything on this story, but I also keep an eye on the Friends of Justice blog, because they are closely connected to the case.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Exposing the Neo-Right, Committees of Correspondence, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, Maggie’s Notebook, The Pet Haven Blog, Stuck On Stupid, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, The Pet Haven, Conservative Cat, Adeline and Hazel, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, Right Celebrity, Stageleft, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Recent Comments