OPINION & EDITORIAL
‘Jena Six’: attacks don’t void rights
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Also by Gerald Cox:
- I'll take a female president, just not her (December 3, 2007)
- Religion aside, faith perseveres (November 26, 2007)
- Want Big Ten sports? Get a dish (November 19, 2007)
- Civil rights movement needs 'Black-In' (November 12, 2007)
Related Stories:
- A crucible of culture (February 28, 2002)
- Black History Month: A vision revived (February 1, 2002)
- Jena 6 give hope to justice movement (September 25, 2007)
- Sheriff candidate promotes equality (September 12, 2006)
- Coulter wrong on Jews (October 18, 2007)
by Gerald Cox
Monday, September 24, 2007
My great-grandfather was lynched in Louisiana. He owned a fairly desirable plot of land. A few white landowners wanted it. So they lynched him. It's history, and history happens. This bit of history, unfortunately, is overwhelmingly black history. A noose is a weapon as much as it is a statement, and it is a powerfully loaded statement when made to a black audience. A noose invokes decades of lynch mobs, Jim Crowe laws and institutionalized racism. It is a statement of hate, fear and racism. It is iconic of death, and specifically, the death of blacks. We cannot deny that in this republic — and especially in Louisiana — a noose invokes a violent and racist history. Historically speaking, a noose says, "Nigger, I'm going to kill you."
So when three students in Jena, La., hung nooses from the "white tree" on their school campus, they created a context of hate and violence. When authorities in Jena did not take care to put to rest the fear and history that a noose symbolizes in the Deep South, they allowed a context in which black families were on the defensive. When authorities aggravated the situation by making threats to quell unrest among black students, they assured black families they had no intention of protecting them as they protect their white neighbors. And when white authorities made sure to punish black offenders in excess, especially when compared with their white counterparts, they set the stage for Jena to become the temporary focal point of the remains of the black civil rights movement.
A year ago, a black student at Jena High School asked if he could sit underneath a tree on the school campus that was traditionally known as the "white tree." A day after the black student was assured of his right to sit under the so-called "white tree," two nooses were found hanging from the tree.
What followed was a series of events that have conspired to make Jena a salient flashpoint on the civil rights scene. Culminating in a schoolyard brawl, six black students — the "Jena Six," as they have now been named — beat a single white student, Justin Barker, to unconsciousness.
Mr. Barker was alleged to have been mocking a member of the group for a beating he had suffered at the hands of white students only days earlier. Mr. Barker quickly learned not to taunt a group of students about their friend being the subject of a racist beating, and ended up spending some time in the hospital following the assault. Apparently, however, the Jena Six were fairly conservative in their beating, as Mr. Barker was able to attend a social event that evening.
There was a time when our civil rights movement and its leaders mobilized thousands of men and women against institutionalized racism. We — the black we — rallied around salient pioneers of our civil rights. Pioneers like Rosa Parks, athletes like Jackie Robinson, leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., and brave young people like the Little Rock Nine. Those men and women chose to lead, to some degree, a generation of blacks.
When compared with the sacrifice and strength of these figures, the Jena Six hardly seem worth mentioning. After all, the six young men involved viciously beat a fellow student. Justice must be served. Unfortunately for the Jena Six, and as is often the case with black offenders, "justice" seems only to be enforced when the offender is black.
The Jena Six were arrested, charged with attempted second-degree murder, and expelled from their school. One of the members of the so-called Jena Six, Robert Bailey, was beat by a group of white youth only days before the assault of Mr. Barker took place. One youth was arrested in relation to Mr. Bailey's beating, given probation and forced to apologize.
It is alarming that a group of black males should be charged with attempted murder while a similar group of white males committing similar acts only days before escaped with no more than a single apology. It is alarming when a group of white students can make such a hateful statement as hanging nooses from a tree in a little, predominantly white, town in Louisiana and escape with a three-day suspension. And it is alarming when the vanguard of our civil rights movement descends upon a town to call for the freedom of a group of young men who have assaulted a single victim.
How does one reconcile the violent actions of the Jena Six with the public outcry at the racist absurdity of their treatment? How does one protest the racism inherent in their treatment, while refraining from condoning the violent retribution that the Jena Six sought? Does one wear black on Wednesday in protest? Does one call for their freedom, march on the Confederate-flag lined streets of Jena or shake his head in disgust?
Sometimes, as in Jena, when civil authorities have clearly indicated their unwillingness to intervene and the racist specter of a noose hangs menacingly over the thoughts of black families, the justice system becomes the front of the bus. The people embroiled in its racist injustice are turned into unwitting symbols of a justice system and society that, in some places, are still racist. They aren't Rosa Parks, but the battle that Jena Six's plight embodies is worth fighting.
Gerald Cox (gcox@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in economics.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 7:35am):
Gerald, you are a liar. Your grandfather was not lynched. I thought I heard you were from Chicago, not the South.
And how do you justify beating up white people you disagree with? No one has the right to do that, yet you feel that, because you are black, that you have a free pass to beat up any white person you want. Ain't happening. The more cheaps shot you take at whites with stupid articles like this, the more legitimized white hate groups such as the KKK will feel. And the KKK isn't even involved yet!
So cut the crap and tell it like it really is.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 7:42am):
Those six thugs need hung. Crime is crime. Deal with it.
K W Smith (September 24, 2007 @ 9:35am):
A school yard brawl? A conservative beating? Mr Barker was attacked from behind by 6 thugs, and knocked unconscious with the first blow! Not satisfied, the 6 then kicked him as he lay helpless. I would say, as a journalist, you take liberties with your presentations to bolster your predjudices. Anytime someone is beaten unconscious, it is serious, and life-threatening... Just consult any doctor. Mychal Bell has a history of violence and battery at the young age of 16... a thug! But blacks have a way of overlooking thugs in their community, and eagerly defend them, particularly when it's a white victim. The black community defends OJ, Tookie Williams, and Michael Vick, so why not Mychal Bell? So go ahead and have your rallies behind such community heros as Sharpton and Jackson, a disgraceful pair; and free Mychal Bell to batter again. I just hope when Jackson endorses a college scholarship for Mr Bell, it is a black college.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 10:29am):
"It is alarming that a group of black males should be charged with attempted murder while a similar group of white males committing similar acts only days before escaped with no more than a single apology."
BS! Whites charged with a hate crime get a lot worse punishment than nonwhites who commit the same crimes. Show us some statistics that back up your claim.
"It is alarming when a group of white students can make such a hateful statement as hanging nooses from a tree in a little, predominantly white, town in Louisiana and escape with a three-day suspension."
Not when you compare it to blacks who commit violent crimes on school property every day and get off just as light.
"And it is alarming when the vanguard of our civil rights movement descends upon a town to call for the freedom of a group of young men who have assaulted a single victim."
Oh shut the hell up already, Gerald! It's not like they're rounding up blacks all over the place and incarcerating them without a trial! You probably wish you were there too in stead of up here writing this drivel. Nonwhites like you are so self-centered. You all think you can just bitch bitch bitch while committing the same human rights violations you're always bitching about. How about bitching about the hate crimes committed against whites in this country every day? No, it just doesn't happen in your world. Not a day goes by when I hear a nonwhite bragging about how "someday whites won't be around anymore." Who has the genocidal mentality now? Not white people.
Take your little sob story and stick it!
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 10:48am):
"a similar group of white males committing similar acts only days before"
I didn't see anything about a black guy getting beaten and kicked unconcious by a gang of white guys. I would have thought this would have been more widely reported.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 11:10am):
This is incredible! Ten years ago, liberals were running around Madison yelling "Racist, fascist, bigot, etc." at every other white person they passed on the street. They actually thought they could get away with it and were laughing their butts off about it. They had several protests, marches and rallies every week. Now they hardly show their faces. They've gone from hundreds marching from the campus to the capital to just one or two scuzzy smelly hippies on a street corner trying to sell copies of The Socialist Worker. What a difference ten years makes!
Progress. Ya gotta love it!
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 11:42am):
Damn, Gerald, you seem to be really catchin' it today! I feel for you, dude, I really do. But don't take it too hard, OK? I mean, it's not like you're suddenly the most hated person in America. Today, that honor does to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Seriously, it ain't easy being a race-baiting moron. Lots of other black people have tried it, all without positive results. I would suggest trying your hand at finishing your education and getting a real job.
Peace out.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 12:07pm):
High school boys, jeeze! Is there a non-racist or non-homophobic teen male in the country? It's all about who's the toughest or who's the most manly or who's the most popular. Regardless of the noose, I contend that this was really never about race. I think it had more to do with raging hormones and poor adjustment to adulthood.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 12:57pm):
Check out some facts:
* There was no connection between the September noose incident and December attack, according to Donald Washington, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department in western Louisiana, who investigated claims that these events might be race-related hate crimes.
AND THIS IS INTERESTING!
* The six-member jury that convicted Bell was, indeed, all white. However, only one in 10 people in LaSalle Parish is African American, and though black residents were selected randomly by computer and summoned for jury selection, none showed up.
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/122649.html
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 1:08pm):
I'm with you on the on that the punishment of attempted murder is an injustice, and it is pretty apparent that the seriousness of the charges are because of the race of the students But they were "fairly conservative in their beating" Are you serious man!! If you're going to talk about justice you have to write an article that speaks to the truth of the situation, not a one-sided loaded piece of writing that tries to play off mob violence as nothing. You're making the dense quasi-white power people who somehow claim that racism is a thing of the past that commented before look like they might have some ground, which is a pretty ridiculous feat.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 1:18pm):
I'm ashamed at the comments written on this board.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 1:32pm):
if it were reversed, it would be a hate crime.
let's talk about the couple in nashville that was raped and terrorized for days by 4 blacks.
the story wasn't reported as this one wouldn't be if not for the noose...it simply doesn't fit the media's objectives.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 2:09pm):
Excellent article. Unfortunately, as the comments illustrate, these problems will always exist because the people who benefit are the majority, and it would damage their egos to admit that they have it better than others. Keep telling the truth and you'll keep pounding away at their ignorance.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 3:16pm):
It's interesting that the argument is being made that "if it happened the other way around" when, indeed, as Gerald points out, it did. Read the entirety of the column. A member of the Jena six was beat up a few days before this incident by a group of white males.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 3:24pm):
2 wrongs don't make a right. They beat someone, they need to be punished.
Oliver Kiefer (September 24, 2007 @ 3:30pm):
Two brief things:
First, to 7:35 AM - Mr. Cox is not from Chicago, he's just foolishly a Bears fan. Either way, I'm not from the same state as my great-grandfather so you're arguement there is pretty sad.
Secondly, to 10:29 AM - You demand in your column that Mr. Cox use statistics to back up his claims, and I think that's a fair request (though I do sympathize with space limitations, etc.). Here's the deal though, if you're going to demand statistics in a column, I'm going to demand them in your comments.
You can't say something like, "How about bitching about the hate crimes committed against whites in this country every day?" without bringing up statistics to back yourself up.
And to all of you, if you're going to attack a guy who puts his voice out there you owe him only one thing: put your name behind the comments that attack him.
Sincerely,
-Oliver Kiefer
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 3:32pm):
I can't believe the first comment. How could a person accuse someone else of lying about their family history without actually knowing anything about it?
To that first poster, while I understand that your family probably stayed in the same small town, in-breeding your family to the point where the offspring was as stupid as you clearly are, is it not possible that in the generations since Gerald's great-grandfather, his family could have *gasp* moved somewhere else?
It's called The Great Migration. Look it up, genius.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 4:01pm):
"A member of the Jena six was beat up a few days before this incident by a group of white males."
Huh??? Beat up????
Fair Barn party incident
On Friday, December 1, 2006, there was a private party, attended mostly by whites but with some blacks, at the Jena Fair Barn.[15] Five black youths, including 16-year-old Robert Bailey, Jr., attempted to enter the party at about 11 p.m. According to U.S. Attorney Washington, they were told by a woman that no one was allowed inside without an invitation. The five youths persisted, stating that some friends were already in attendance at the party. A white man, who was not a student, then jumped in front of the woman and a fight ensued. After the fight broke up, the woman told both the white man and five black youths to leave the party. Once outside, the black students were involved in another fight with a group of white men, who were not students.[9] Police were called to investigate. Justin Sloan, a white male, was charged with simple battery for his role in the fight and was put on probation. Bailey later stated that one of the white men broke a beer bottle over his head,[11] but there were no official records of Bailey receiving medical treatment for the injury.[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 4:48pm):
First of all there are more racist blacks than whites. This shouldnt be about black or white. The fact is that a terroristc act was commited and people acted violentle. There for both sides should be prosecuted acording to the laws of today.
If it was the other way around. I bet the black community wouldn't care that a black man hung the noose. They would only care that the black man was put in the hospital.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 4:58pm):
"I thought I heard you were from Chicago, not the South."
Yeah! Nobody's family ever moves from one place to another over 80 years!
Jebus, some of the people who comment here are dumb!
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 4:59pm):
Good article Gerald. It sickens me that people are attacking you the way they are! What's the matter the majority "whites" can't accept that they have it made in this country, and when the are called out on it acted like they got a dick up thier ass!
one more quick comment I would like to add is to respond to post 3:24.
Two wrongs don't make a right huh, then how do you explain 3 wrongs on the part of the white community in Jena
1) the nooses being hung
2) a white man draws a gun on three black males @ a local gas station
3) the beating of a black male @ a party by while males.
Also, no one is saying that the Jena 6 shouldn't get punished but that the punishment should not ignore the 8th amendment. What do you have to say to all the other 100,000 or so fights that happen every day in public high schools across America, should they all get 15-80yrs in prison or just the traditional fine of $250?
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 7:07pm):
I don't believe that this is another Selma as the Rev. Jackson has said, nor do I believe that this is an incident devoid of racism. Unfortunately, it is a racism that flows in both directions.
The problem lies in that both white and black students acted on racism in Jena. Who provoked whom is not necessarily as important as the fact that racism obviously exists in Jena.
Make no mistake the Jena 6 should be punished, but so should anyone else who beats another student based solely on race.
That said, the reaction against Mr. Cox is disgusting. If you have a criticism of his article, take it up with the substance of what he says, not by personal attacks.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 9:19pm):
I'm tremendously disappointed in the comments being posted. I really hope that they are all coming from the same wack-job, and are not representative of the thoughts of the student body of my proud alma mater.
For those of you who have argued against affirmative action, race-based admissions or recruitment practices, or any other means of diversifying the student body, these comments serve as a reminder of why a diverse student body is so important.
The truth is, when I was a student at UW, I probably held some of the same feelings as these ignorant posters, if not quite so strongly, or expressed with such vitriol. Since then, I have lived in communities that are extraordinarily diverse, in which I was the minority. From these experiences, I have learned a few of the many things that the white, sheltered world of the University of Wisconsin cannot teach you.
Racism is real. It's every day. And it's much worse than you think. There is no comparing what is done by a majority/oppressor to a minority/oppressed to what is done by a minority to a member of the majority. Crime or hatred in either direction is awful, but one has much, much more profound meaning, and much more consequence.
I only wish it were true that a hate crime perpetrated by a white person would garner a worse consequence than one perpetrated by a black person. There is more power, more venom, and more damage done by an oppressor to his oppressed than could be done in twice as many such actions in the other direction. But far more frequently, whether it be the Jena six or Genarlow Wilson, the black perpetrator of any crime is punished much more than would be his white counterpart. The sentiments to the opposite effect on this message board are simply the logical result of a sheltered existence.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 9:54pm):
"the black perpetrator of any crime is punished much more than would be his white counterpart"
Just ask OJ!
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 10:13pm):
Associated Press 9/22/07
"But what happened, exactly?
The story goes that a year ago, a black student asked at an assembly if he could sit in the shade of a live oak, which, the story goes, was labeled "the white tree" because only white students hung out there. The next day, three nooses dangled from the oak -- code for "KKK" -- the handiwork of three white students, who were suspended for just three days.
Much of that is disputed. What happened next is not: Two months later, an arsonist torched a wing of Jena High School. (The case remains unsolved.) Two fights between blacks and whites roiled the town that weekend, culminating in a school-yard brawl on Dec. 4 that led the district attorney to charge the Jena Six with attempted murder. The lethal weapon he cited to justify the charge: the boys' sneakers.
In July, the first to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted after two hours of deliberations by an all-white jury on reduced charges of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit it.
(It was widely reported that Bell, now 17, was an honor student with no prior criminal record. Although he had a high grade-point average, he was, in fact, on probation for at least two counts of battery and a count of criminal damage to property. In any event, his conviction was overturned because an appeals court ruled he should not have been tried as an adult.)
There is, however, a more nuanced rendition of events -- one that can be found in court testimony, in interviews with teachers, officials and students at Jena High, and in public statements from a U.S. attorney who reviewed the case for possible federal intervention.
Consider:
_The so-called "white tree" at Jena High, often reported to be the domain of only white students, was nothing of the sort, according to teachers and school administrators; students of all races, they say, congregated under it at one time or another.
_Two nooses -- not three -- were found dangling from the tree. Beyond being offensive to blacks, the nooses were cut down because black and white students "were playing with them, pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them," according to a black teacher who witnessed the scene.
_There was no connection between the September noose incident and December attack, according to Donald Washington, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department in western Louisiana, who investigated claims that these events might be race-related hate crimes.
_The three youths accused of hanging the nooses were not suspended for just three days -- they were isolated at an alternative school for about a month, and then given an in-school suspension for two weeks.
_The six-member jury that convicted Bell was, indeed, all white. However, only one in 10 people in LaSalle Parish are African American, and though black residents were selected randomly by computer and summoned for jury selection, none showed up."
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 10:33pm):
9:19 p.m. I couldn't have said it any better!
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 11:26pm):
Yeah, well plenty of cheap shots were also taken at white males back in the 90's. That's why we're pissed. We had a taste of your brand of equal justice, where white males were automatically guilty. Now it's our turn. Too bad if you can't handle the truth. The truth is that minorities are far more prejudiced than white males are nowadays.
You insist on bashing every white male alive today for what happened long before any of us were even born. You're always right and everybody else is always wrong. That's your way of looking at the world. And it's pretty myopic as far as I am concerned. You've worn out your welcome. You poor oppressed minorities will stay poor and oppressed because we no longer trust you with full equality. We will never trust you. What kind of future would you have in store for us? Given the white male rhetoric heard on the street every day, it doesn't sound very equal for us. So down there at the bottom of the ladder you'll stay.
Lorrie Hinton (September 25, 2007 @ 11:18am):
Gerald,
Thanks for your article. I agree with your opinions on this situation. We have a lot of work to do in this country. I am happy to have young men like you preparing to lead the way.
It saddens me to see so many ignorant comments from other young people at a institution of higher learning. I can only pray for their enlightenment.
Anonymous (September 26, 2007 @ 5:48am):
Not only is there almost no media coverage of black violent crimes against white people, but in high profile cases the black criminals are turned into "real victims" by the media. To illustrate the sickening bias, imagine if the facts were reversed - if a gang of six white kids led by a someone with four previous convictions for violent-crime had attacked a lone black student, kicking and stomping him into unconsciousness. As far as the corporate media are concerned, they would be interviewing the black victim on every TV talk show across the land, discussing his fear, his pain, his suffering. They would be interviewing his crying relatives and friends. They would not be voicing any fear that the White attackers would be treated too harshly. The entire Jena scenario and the coverage of it by the media show once again that it is not the people of Jena who are the racists.
Anonymous (September 26, 2007 @ 10:17pm):
Thank you for writing this article. It is important to challenge the overwhelming majority of students at this university, which, apparently, cannot handle the truth.
Anonymous (September 27, 2007 @ 12:06am):
"BS! Whites charged with a hate crime get a lot worse punishment than nonwhites who commit the same crimes. Show us some statistics that back up your claim."
Where are YOUR stats, meathead? it is a fact that black are much more likely to go to jail, once charged with a crime, than are whites. Here is just one example, which has to do with the death penalty:
"Another measure of race's impact on the death penalty is the combined effect of the race of the defendant and the race of the victim. In the Philadelphia study, the racial combination which was most likely to result in a death sentence was a black defendant with a nonblack victim, regardless of how severe the murder committed. Black-on-black crimes were less likely to receive a death sentence, followed by crimes by other defendants, regardless of the race of their victims.
As noted above, in cases deemed to be least severe and those found to be most severe, the connection between race and the likelihood of a death sentence tends to lessen. For example, few defendants of any race are likely to get the death penalty in a case involving defendants with no prior record and where the killing may have been accidental. But for the bulk of crimes which are in the mid-level of severity, blacks who kill nonblacks are more likely to receive the death penalty than blacks who kill blacks, and they have a death sentencing rate much larger than the rate for defendants of other races who commit similarly severe murders of black victims.
It is important to note that these mid-range cases are precisely the ones in which prosecutors and jurors have the most discretion on seeking and imposing the death penalty. And when discretion is more prevalent, race may more easily become the deciding factor in who lives and who dies. "
by by Richard C. Dieter, Esq.
Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center
Anonymous (September 27, 2007 @ 12:02pm):
Hello Everyone
My name is Ivan B. Phifer, and im a junior atending the U of M twin cities majoring in Mass Communications. You guys really should get off Geralds back he's just writing the facts...and to that first writing with the contankerous comments...our grandparents & great grandparents are from Shreveport Louisiana! The few cheap shots taken at men of caucasian descent are nothin compared to the excrutiating pain of slavery we have endured for 400 plus years. If you really look throughout history African Americans Indians, The Chinese @ the beginning of the 20th centur,y were always the subject of inferiority to caucasians; Jim Crow in the 1960's,, the Trail of Tears in 1838, The Mexican American war in 1845, etc In fact, even in government & politics, not only people of color, but WOMEN (including caucasian women) are seen as inferior and of assistance to, but not equal counterpart to man. Even today, who is the one most likely to get stared down because he looks like he'll confiscate any item in the store the first chance he gets, or he's black so he must be a drug dealer or uneducated. We are the subject to constant ridicule & stereotpes! in In an 1860 Speech by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she stated that the prejudice against sex is no stronger the the prejudice agains color, because both of their intentions are to belittle, and become the subjection of white man. So statistics are not needed, just look at your history books & government laws
Thank You & Have a good day
Ivan B. Phifer
Daphne Blue-Williams (October 7, 2007 @ 8:18pm):
You know what, if the person who called you really don't know your personal familial history so to call you a liar isn't fair. Second of all, if that person knew their Black history we moved/migrated from the South to the North looking for a better chance and opportunity. Third of all, we are all human beings and we need to start treating each other as such because We Will Be accountable for our actions or inactions.Everyone in the Black community who has any kind of discussion about this issue and others know that the KKK and the Midknight Riders were the first homegrown terriorists of this country, and now it is often well hidden but, eventually there is a snag somewhere, and it needs to be straightened out and corrected as well as, redirected in the thinking. I personally take a person for what they are and how they treat me, and I listen very carefully to what they say not the color of their skin because I am not afraid of anyone but my Heavenly Father who protects all.
Anonymous (November 6, 2007 @ 11:52pm):
If the guy that was so "brutally" attacked by those "six thugs", then why was he well enough to go to a party that same night?! I think if anyone needs to cut the crap it's the ignorant hicks who think that they are justified in defending the other ignorant hicks who are really guilty here.
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