Story Behind The Jena 6!!!
Erika Burnett of Nashville, TN noticed a red pick-up truck with nooses hanging from its parts. In hand, the trucker had a rifle and a message that promoted hatred and serious dedication to his ideology. His eyes were sharp darts that stung hearts like bees attacking honey-covered skin. This white supremacist with visions of a Confederate South, didn’t agree with the thousands of dark faces in Jena, LA in support of justice and equality. He wanted the black supporters out, back to where they came from- on the first slave ship going east.
"Pure hatred was the only thing we saw coming from that truck," said Burnett, during an interview with CNN, based on an experience after the “Jena 6” Rally in Jena, LA on September 21, 2007. “It was nothing but hatred.”
Hatred was the foundation in which 15,000 to 20,000 people showed up to a small town populated by a little over 3,000. Hatred was the spark, which flamed a fire at a small high school that kept silent too long in regards to race relations.
In a schoolyard where a tree stemmed, hate leaves flourished and the roots became “Stronger,” than Kanye West’s recent Graduation single. These roots developed through seeds that grew into long, sturdy branches that were hard to cut down and damn near impossible to abolish.
In hopes that the seasons have changed, leaves have fallen and years and years of confusion and traditions are becoming old, while new leaves are growing. After nooses hung underneath a tree that grew from the ground to provide life and inspiration, it became a symbol of racism and loud passions of disgust. In a small town in Louisiana, the trees are too, segregated and racist.
This tree was and still is a reflection of a community that resembles black and white photos of “No Niggers Allowed” and people being hosed down by water pressure. This story has to be told for both sides of the spectrum- both black and white.
Through the support of hundreds on grassroots organizations, countless websites and the power of the radio, the story of Jena, LA has been exposed. With little to no support from mainstream media, CNN called it, “One of the biggest Civil Rights movements in the last couple of decades.”
CNN ran the headline: “KKK, Neo-Nazis and No Bail,” after a thousands of people in black apparel marched, sang and traveled miles and miles to a town that has always been separated by color and race and race has never played a bigger role to one’s life then accomplishments and gross income.
It’s 2007 and in a place called Jena, LA race matters. Your Bentley, Louis Vuitton buckets and gold grills are no longer relevant- you’re still a shade of brown. This is reality to hundreds of people in the backwoods of America, where confederate flags wave at you like friends and division is more obvious than the parted sea.
HipHopDX decided to research and bring you the story of the “Jena 6.”
THE LEAD UP
On August 31, 2006 a group of students approached the Vice Principal of their high school and asked if it was “ok” to sit underneath a tree (for shade) that had been a traditional spot for white students to sit. This tree has been referred to as the “white tree,” because only white students had sat underneath the tree. The vice principal assured the students that they could sit wherever they pleased.
The students sat under the tree only to discover that the next day, the tree had two nooses hanging from the tree, in the colors of black and gold. These colors represented their school spirit (as these were the colors of Jena High School).
On September 5, 2006, after the various parents came together to discuss the story at a local church, they came to the conclusion that the “tree incident” was unfair and an act of crime. That following day, the students exercised what they thought was right and protested underneath the “white tree” as a symbol of their right to equality.
That symbol became an issue for District Attorney Reed Walters and he then warned the black students (the protestors) at an assembly, that if further actions were taken he could make their “lives disappear with a stroke of a pen.”
Soon after (the next day), police officers patrolled the hallways and on September 8, 2007 the school officials imposed a “lockdown” and lots of town people considered the parents to be the blame.
After the parents received media attention, Principal Scott Windham recommended that the three white boys responsible for hanging the nooses be expelled. The three (white) students weren’t identified in the media to protect their images and for reasons of confidentiality. The committee that Windham called the hearing with thought that the three students should receive a three-day in school suspension and they did.
The three (white) students were said to have said that their “noose prank,” was an inspired prank, scene in a television show on the Hallmark Channel called, Lonesome Dove. This incident led parents to call out for a meeting with the school board and the school board rejected their initial intent to speak out on the topic.
At the second meeting, parents could speak but weren’t allowed to discuss the “noose issue” because the school board considered it to be a resolved issue. That resolved issue led to an incident on November 30, 2006, when a large fire covered Jena High School’s academic wing.
That following weekend, the small town was full of racial tension and if the walls of Jena could talk, they would have blurted out, “War!”
With two separate incidents occurring soon after, one being a black student being jumped (or beat up) by several white males (the males was never charged with assault) and next one being a white male pulling a shotgun out on three black males. The black students gained control of the firearm and left with it as well. The black men were arrested and charged with aggravated battery and theft. One incident happened at a convenience store the other at a fair. The white student was never charge with gun possession,
On December 4, 2006 a huge fight broke out at Jena High between a white student (whom had a rifle in his truck on school property) and a black student (who had previously been jumped by the white attackers).
The white student ended up being attacked by several black students and the white male laid unconscious. Testimonials from students, say that the black student’s “beef” rose from him being jumped prior (and the unconscious white student was heard to have went to a social event that same night) and being called a “nigger."
With a violent history and rage floating in the air, fights were expected to break out and the school’s officials were even warned by the teachers that the tension was becoming greater. The teachers insisted that school be dismissed for several days, yet the school insisted class resumed.
Within an hour of the fight, the six students accused of shutting the eye shut of the white student were named the “Jena 6,” and arrests were made, while each black student was being charged with aggravated battery. After a while, the charges were moved up to attempted second-degree murder charges and the potential of life in prison.
Robert Bailey, Jr., Mychal Bell, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, Theo Shaw and Jesse Ray Beard are now identified as the “Jena 6”. All six males range from the ages 14 to 18. The bails ranged from $70-138,000, which was numbers that were highly impossible to match due to incomes of the families.
On September 4, 2007 the charges against Theo Shaw and Carwin Jones were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy and on September 10, 2007 Robert Bailey, Jr.’s was lowered to the same charges.
Bell is the only student that has been tried so far and he was found guilty and could have faced up to 15 years if the ruling wasn’t overturned, for the simple fact that he’s not an adult and was tried as such. His bail is still at $90,000. Bryant Purvis is still facing attempted murder charges. Jesse Ray, the youngest is facing undisclosed juvenile charges.
The tree has been cut down but the roots still run deep into the ground. Think about it.