On September 20, 2007, thousands descended upon a small town in Jena, Louisiana. You would have thought it was a concert or sporting event, but you’d have been wrong.
What it was is being compared to the Civil Rights marches and has been dubbed the “Little Rock 9” and closely resembling the Million Man March some 12 years ago by the shear numbers of supporters. Similar issues, decades apart with one common thread: unequal administration of justice to people of color. 

Six black teenagers decided that enough was enough after being “warned” by a group of white students not to sit under a tree traditionally reserved for the white high school students. A retalitory fist fight broke out between the white and black students when the white students hung three nooses on the tree. The incident resulted in the white students being suspended for the fight while the black students were arrested and charged as adults for attempted murder!

The attempted murder charge was partially justified by local officials because one student used his sneaker in the fight (no, he didn’t take it of and pummel him, he was just wearing sneakers).  All 6 black students were carted off to jail. One student, Mychal Bell, has been in jail for this incident since December 2006.  His bail was set at $90,000; his family was unable to raise the money for his release.

In a related incident in Jena, a black student went into a convenience store and a 22-year-old white man drew a gun on him. The student disarmed the man and no one was hurt, but local authorities charged the teenager with theft of a firearm.  Needless to say, racial tensions in Jena have continued to escalate to a 1963 level. These folks clearly are caught in a time warp. 

The national community was made aware by various radio show hosts and black bloggers. A call was made to Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and other prominent leaders.

The end result was thousands of people of all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds pledging to come from all over the country to demand equal justice for these 6 boys (hence the name “The Jena 6).

Sensing the outrage in the community, the appellate court in the Lasalle Parrish decided to overturn the conviction, concluding that the children should not have been charged as adults. While this seemed like a victory, the people still felt that this was to pacify the community and thwart the planned protest.  National leaders encouraged people to continue planning the journey to Jena to demonstrate support of equal justice in the close-knit town.

And come they did. Planes, trains and caravans were packed with supporters concerned about these issues we all believed were a thing of the past.  In September of 2007, hundreds of thousands of people wore all black to show their support of the events, even if they were unable to attend the march.  They were proud and unapologetic in support of fair treatment and equal protection for everyone under the laws of this country (which undoubtedly, Jena Louisiana is a part of).

As of this writing, Mychal Bell is still behind bars. His senior year has been ripped away from him, his reputation as a trouble-maker will always proceed him, and his image will be forever tarnished in his community all because he had a school yard fight over an issue that should have been dead long ago. 

While we sleep comfortably and drink our soy latte’s, this young man sits unjustly in a Louisiana jail cell awaiting justice in a community that didn’t think enough of him to desegregate a tree and a school official who stated that he could, “make his life disappear with the stroke of a pen”. 

We’ll get up tomorrow and be bombarded with what Lindsay, Paris and Britney are doing; and like the Katrina victims, no one will remember what happened in Jena Louisiana except the 15,000-20,000 thousand who were there.

At least on this day, some of us stood in solidarity and unity to shine a light on a problem that continues to go unchallenged in so many communities around our country. Hopefully, in 20 years, this article will be merely a bitter sweet ‘remember when’ instead of a ‘once again’.

Please wake up, people. Its time to stand up for what is RIGHT, regardless of our race, gender, economic status or sexual preference. Our survival depends on our outrage when there is an egregious injustice. If we don’t get involved, who will??