Jena6 Petition

There is an online petition asking the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to take action.

We respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice review events surrounding the prosecution of six Black students in Jena, Louisiana, to determine whether the civil rights of Jena residents have been violated.

In a May 20, 2007 Chicago Tribune article titled "Racial Demons Rear Heads," Howard Witt reported that the six students faced prosecution for charges including second degree attempted murder -- and possible prison sentences of up to 100 years -- for allegedly participating in an unarmed school brawl that resulted in no serious injuries. The alleged brawl followed months of racial tension after hangman's nooses were hung from a tree at the students' school.

Sign the petition.

Lack of Progressive Coverage On Jena6

Pam Spaulding has a post taking the progressive blogosphere and Glenn Reynolds to task for not covering the Jena6 story.

* DailyKos features a handful of posts about injustice in Iraq today -- but not a single entry on its main page, or even its user-generated "diaries," about this important case.

* TalkingPointsMemo, a favorite of the DC wonk set, is similarly incensed about foreign policy, but apparently not about racial justice in the South -- nothing there either.

* Long-time progressive blogger Atrios doesn't have a lot of posts up,but found time to touch on Paul Krugman, Iraq and the state of the Euro -- but not this major issue.

* Surely TalkLeft -- which has positioned itself as the leading progressive blog about criminal justice issues -- would have something? Think again -- not a single mention, not even in the quick news briefs!

* What about another progressive favorite, FireDogLake? A rant about Republicans being "little bitches," but nothing on the Jena 6.

When the Jena 6 does make an appearance on progressive blogs today, it's little more than a passing nod. Huffington Post has a blog post buried below the fold; ThinkProgress gives it a two-sentence news brief.

However, many of these blogs are eagerly pointing to news stories which suggest the Republican candidates don't care about black issues.

Jane Hamsher protested Spaulding's post. She felt she was being accused of being a racist and would have to defend herself if she wrote about the Jena6 controversy. I don't think that was the intention of Spaulding's post. The point was minorities and the poor are often neglected in news coverage. That doesn't mean Hamsher is a racist. (I have seen no evidence to lead me to believe that.)

I have been guilty of not covering the Jena6 story. I wrote this comment at Pandagon.

I have learned about the Jena6 story from media reports in the last few days. I admit that I haven’t blogged about it myself. I think Jane Hamsher is being overly defensive. The truth is there are a lot of stories the blogosphere doesn’t cover. I try to write about Florida and Tampa politics because very few people do. If people say I haven’t blogged enough about Jena6 I’ll take it as a valid criticism.

I’m trying people. Believe me.

What is interesting is Facebook has activists very involved in getting the word out on Jena6. That is how I first learned about it.

Students Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York, and New Orleans are protesting the legal treatment Mychal Bell and other black high school students in Jena, Louisiana. Bell was convicted of second-degree battery by an all-white jury. His conviction was overturned. The court ruled he should not be tried as an adult.

Jean has a history of racially-charged fights. White youth would either not get charged or face misdemeanors. Black teens would face harsher penalties. Six teens are facing second degree murder charges for assault on Justin Barker.

There is something extremely dysfunctional about the community. Black and whites long had contempt for each other. Nooses were hung at a high school. This is not the way for people to live.