Katrina “Shoot to Kill” Orders Gave Green Light for Jena
• Free the Jena Six! Charge Government Officials for Crimes of Racism & Impunity
• State Officials Orchestrate Guilty Verdict in Jena Six Trial
• Facts of the Jena Six Case
• Take Action to Defend the Jena Six - Friends of Justice
• Day of Action to Defend the Jena Six
Katrina “Shoot to Kill” Orders Gave Green Light for Jena
Free the Jena Six! Charge Government Officials for Crimes of Racism & Impunity!
Tens of thousands of people poured into Jena, Louisiana on September 20, taking their stand against the racism and crimes of the government and demanding that the Jena Six be freed and freed now. Actions also took place across the country, with African American students and youth in the forefront. Targeting the government for its organized racism, protesters everywhere chanted “No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police!” Many of the actions were held at local, state and federal offices, as demonstrators focused on the government’s crimes. These crimes included the government’s organized racism in the form of the racist mass incarceration of African Americans and the unjust and racist character of charging, trying and sentencing African Americans, especially youth — sharply brought out by the Jena case.
Voice of Revolution salutes the Jena Six, the youth of Jena, and all the demonstrators in Jena and across the country who together made clear, Enough is Enough! Free the Jena Six Now! No to Racist Police, No to all Government Racism!
The Jena Six are six young African Americans who stood up for their rights and opposed segregation at their high school. The youth were openly identified by the government for their resistance, openly threatened, then unjustly charged and jailed (see articles below for more information).
The local District Attorney (DA) stated at the time of protests against segregation, in September 2006, that “I can take away your lives at the stroke of a pen.” By doing so, he openly supported the segregation and made clear that the effort to invoke KKK-terror with the hanging of three nooses on a tree at the school would not be opposed. On the contrary, the government would be the enforcer of the racist terror, of a modern-day lynching. No one in the DA’s office, or at the state or federal level, said anything against this criminal act by the DA — of openly proclaiming his impunity to act against resistance and when no crime had been committed. These government officials still have not done so, nor has President George W. Bush, nor any of the Democratic candidates talking about “urging justice in the case.” Justice is precisely acting against the government’s racism and impunity! This justice means, Free the Jena Six, Charge the Government Officials, from the top down.
Instead, the DA was not stopped at that time or since. He proceeded to use his power as a government official to in fact “take away the lives” of the Jean Six, using a school fight to charge them with attempted murder in the second degree. He then used the murder charges to impose very high bail, ranging from $70,000-$138,000. He branded the youth as “criminals terrorizing the school and community,” disinformation meant to justify the government’s racist attacks and further incite divisions among the people.
Despite his criminal acts, and despite considerable evidence contradicting the case against the six, he remains in charge and still in a position to prosecute. No one in government is calling for his removal, no one in government is demanding that the officials responsible for the injustice against the Jena Six, from the top down, be held accountable. Thus government at all levels is again putting the stamp of approval on government impunity and racism. These are the crimes the Democratic candidates and all government officials should be speaking to, and instead this is precisely where they are silent. Instead, they want to make Jena, and Katrina before that, appear to be problems of the people themselves, who are supposedly criminal or intolerant, or both. It is government organized racism and impunity that are the problems, and resistance by the peoples the solution, as the Jena actions show.
The U.S. government at all levels has been and remains racist to the core and utilizes this weapon for its survival. Jena is representative of this fact. But it is also more than that. It is occurring now, in 2007, when there has been six years of the war on terrorism, government failure in Iraq and two presidential elections where the candidate that everyone knew had lost, was crowned president. Jena also represents this reality. It represents the failure of the U.S. — born on the basis of slavery and the genocide of native peoples — to eliminate its racism. The area where Jena is located is known for its organizing by the KKK, including KKKer David Duke, organizing long backed by the government. Jena also represents the broad impunity unleashed by the government’s war on terrorism, and the failure of this war. The government’s open use of pre-emptive war, of indefinite detention and torture, of massacres and genocide, not only in Iraq but here as well, are all examples of the broad impunity unleashed. The state is giving itself the right to abandon all norms and principles of conduct established by humanity, including fundamental legal principles, like due process, with charges based on actual crimes.
It is within this situation of broad impunity by the federal government that the government crimes before, during and after Katrina took place. The war on terrorism opened the way for the shoot to kill orders and use of the military against the peoples. And since the “stroke of a pen” by the president and governor could impose shoot to kill orders in New Orleans, certainly it could be used to imprison African American youth in Jena.
The genocide of Katrina was in some ways a battle cry of the ruling circles — to African Americans and all those who stand for justice. It said the government will openly and broadly commit crimes here in the U.S., crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, like abandoning thousands people to die, forcible separation and removal of families, shoot to kill orders and more. No norms, no principles, no humanity is to be left standing.
The war on terrorism, the genocide of Katrina, the injustice of Jena, are the government’s battle cry against humanity, coming from a failed and desperate force, that refuses to get of the stage of history. It is a cry that has been answered by the peoples’ resistance in New Orleans, and now in Jena, and repeatedly on many fronts across the country, in Iraq and worldwide. It is the working class and people, their struggle for a bright future, that is now center stage and it is this struggle that will force the U.S. rulers and their racism and terrorism off the stage.
Jena has struck a chord in part because of the government crimes that have come before it and the firm recognition that this path of the government is dangerous for all. The stand that Enough is Enough says the peoples are rejecting this direction and all the government’s crimes and injustice, against African Americans, against Iraqis, against all.
The experience of the peoples is that an attack on one is an attack on all and that by together fighting for the rights of all, we can secure the rights of each collective and every individual. The resistance in Jena, like that at the anti-war actions this month, like that waged daily here and abroad, is what is decisive in providing a bright future for humanity. Let all work together to step up and strengthen this resistance.
Salute to all the protesters defending the Jena Six! Salute to all those organizing resistance!
[TOP]
State Officials Orchestrate Guilty Verdict
On Thursday, June 28, 2007, at the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena, Louisiana, Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena 6 to face trial, was convicted of aggravated second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit secondary degree aggravated assault. The District Attorney (DA) Reed Walters had originally filed charges of second-degree murder against all of the Jena 6, which carries a possible life sentence. Faced with broad outrage and no case, on the day Bell’s trial started, he reduced the charges to aggravated assault and conspiracy, which still carries a sentence of 15 years.
The government said the alleged assault was “aggravated” because a dangerous weapon was used — tennis shoes. According to this reasoning, every participant in any fight is guilty of aggravated assault, unless he shows up naked. He was accused of participating in a conspiracy because several other students kicked his alleged victim as he lay on the ground. The youth who allegedly kicked Justin Barker were co-conspirators with Bell even if they had never agreed to a coordinated attack. According to the government, because Bell’s single blow made the kicking possible, an informal conspiracy, or “combination” could be implied.
The guilty verdict by an all-white jury came in the face of a government case filled with contradictions and a public defender that called no witnesses and did not challenge the contradictory testimony. The trial judge threw out the conviction for the conspiracy charge, but kept that for aggravated assault.
On September 15, just before mass demonstrations in Jena and nationwide to defend the Jena 6 September 20, Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the conviction, saying Bell could not be tried as an adult (he was sixteen at the time of the school fight). The DA is planning to appeal the ruling and if that fails, press charges against Bell, as a juvenile. It is not clear if the other five will still be brought to trial and if so, what the charges will be.
Facts of the Trial
The racist and criminal action of the DA began back in September of 2006, when, after black youth opposed segregation at their school, he came to a school assembly and told them if they did not stop protesting, he would “take away your lives with a stroke of a pen.” He was not sanctioned or even reprimanded for this statement openly admitting he would abuse his power. The youth he targeted at the assembly were those who organized the resistance. They are the same youth now facing charges.
The state-organized character of this attack can also be seen in the fact that the DA, dealing with a school fight where racist insults were made and a history of racist attacks with no charges existed, targeted the African American youth and charged them with attempted murder. This charge was used to justify outrageous bail levels, from $70,000- $138,000, with Bell given bail of $90,000 and forced to stay in jail until just recently when the conviction was thrown out. As well, all the parents of the six youth were pressured to accept guilty pleas.
Bell’s public defender Blane Williams had also joined the DA in pushing Bell to plead guilty. When Bell refused, he then stumbled through what essentially was no defense. He called no witnesses of his own, presented little evidence and did not oppose the contradictory testimony the government presented at trial. This included refusing to call one of the school’s coaches, Benjy Lewis. Lewis gave two statements immediately after the school fight. In both he stated that Justin Barker was facing him and hit from behind by a different student, not Bell. The blow knocked Barker out. Lewis was not called to testify by the defense. Various other contradictory testimonies concerning who actually hit Barker and who else was involved in striking him afterwards, was also given, but not challenged by Williams. Barker himself said he did not know who hit him.
The DA brought forward ten student witnesses, all white. Most of them were part of a distinct minority within the high school’s white student population who attended all-white schools in the country surrounding Jena until High School. Only one witness at trial testified that Mychal Bell kicked Justin Barker, as he lay unconscious on the ground. This witness was also one of three youth who admitted to hanging the nooses at Jena High School at the beginning of the school year. Barker was a close friend of the three. Attorney Williams did not attempt to discredit the testimony.
One of the four trial witnesses who identified Mychal as the person who threw the first punch had also first said she could not identify the attacker in the fight. She then claimed to “remember,” no doubt with the DA’s coaching. Two other witnesses testified that yet another student, in a “green jacket” struck the blow.
There is little doubt that a white student was involved in a fight with several black students at Jena High School on December 4, 2006. However, conflicting eyewitness statements make it extremely difficult to determine the number of participants or the identity of the alleged assailants with any degree of certainty, let alone beyond a reasonable doubt. It is also certain that at least one of the youth charged was not near the scene of the fight. Most of the students accused of participating in the assault deny involvement.
A guilty verdict was rendered in the context of the government painting the African American youth as criminals and the whites as those engaged in “harmless pranks.” It is in the context of repeated government racism at all levels, not only in Louisiana but nationwide. Few have forgotten the “shoot to kill” orders during the government-organized disaster after Katrina and the broad impunity this unleashed then and that continues today.
Government Targeting Resistance
The reality that the government organized to target resistance while also inciting racist attacks can be seen in the events leading up to the school fight. In signed statements, several white and black students spoke to a series of verbal altercations during the lunch hour preceding the fight involving Justin Barker. The verbal exchanges were directly related to a fight at the Fair Barn three days earlier. On that occasion, a black youth and a few of his friends were invited to a mainly white student party by some of their white friends. When the youth entered the building he was punched in the face by a 22 year-old white male. In seconds, the black youth was assaulted with beer bottles, punches and kicks. No charges were brought.
The following morning, the black youth involved and two of the friends who had come to his aid during the Fair Barn fight were leaving a local convenience store when they encountered one of the white males who had jumped the black youth the night before. Fearing retaliation, the man retreated to his truck and pulled out a pump-action, pistol-grip shotgun. The black youth and his friends were able to wrestle the weapon away and then leave. These African American youth were then charged with assault and theft.
The fight at the Fair Barn, the convenience store incident, and the fight at the school followed in the wake of a traumatic school fire in late November, thought to be arson. Everyone associated with the school was in a state of shock akin to post traumatic stress syndrome. Concerned by the situation, several teachers asked administrators not to reopen the school the Monday morning of the fight. They were ignored.
Student statements suggest that the black student who fought with Justin Barker was responding to taunts about the fight at the Fair Barn. One of three youth, who admitted to hanging nooses earlier in the school year, was also involved in this lunch hour altercation. Despite these facts, at trial, the DA created the impression that Barker was attacked by “black thugs” looking for a random white victim. Before and during the trial he attempted to paint the youth as criminals who had been terrorizing the school and the community. He also implied that the youth were connected with the school fire, on known lie.
In fact, it is Mychal Bell, who participated in organizing the opposition to the segregation at his school, including protesting the KKK-like nooses, that was targeted by the government. It was the government that refused to prosecute the case at Fair Barn while leveling attempted murder charges on the Jena 6. It was the government that promoted racist stereotypes, did not investigate testimony indicating Bell was not the person involved in hitting or kicking Barker and kept facts concerning the events leading up to the fight in question out of court. It was the DA who made clear from the start that he could send people to jail at his whim and no one would stop him. This the impunity of the government from the top down to a DA of a small town in Louisiana.
[TOP]
The following factual information is based on reports from Alan Bean, of Friends of Justice, the main organization working to defend the Jena Six and organize resistance in the region and nationwide.
On Thursday, August 31, 2006, a small group of black students at Jena High School, in Jena Louisiana, asked if they could sit under a tree on the traditionally white side of the Jena High School Square. The Vice Principal informed the students that they could sit wherever they pleased. The following day, September 1, 2006, three nooses were found hanging from the tree in question. Two of the nooses were black and one was gold, the Jena High School colors.
On Tuesday night, September 5, 2006, a group of black parents convened at the L&A Missionary Baptist Church in Jena to discuss their response to this open display of racism and act of intimidation. Black students organized a protest under the tree on Wednesday, September 6, 2006. These same students are among those now being charged. Following this protest, a school assembly was convened. Flanked by armed police officers, District Attorney Reed Walters warned black students that additional protest would be treated as a criminal matter. He specifically threatened the black student protestors saying, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen.” make your lives disappear with a stroke of my pen." This was widely understood to mean he could file charges carrying life sentences — which is what he proceeded to do.
Principal Scott Windham recommended to an expulsion hearing committee that the three white youth responsible for hanging the nooses in the tree should be expelled from school. Although it is well-known that nooses are symbolic of KKK lynching and terrorism of youth and many others who stood up for rights and rejected racism, the committee asserted that the nooses were merely a silly prank. On Thursday, September 7, the committee opted for a few days of in-school suspension. The names of the three students were not released to the public for reasons of confidentiality. On that day police officers patrolled the halls of Jena High School. On Friday, September 8th, the school was placed on full lockdown.
On September 10, 2006, several dozen African American parents attempted to address a meeting of the school board to demand that the school address the problems of racism by school officials, but were refused an opportunity to speak. At a second September meeting of the school board, September 18, a representative of the black families was allowed to give a five-minute statement, but the school board refused to discuss the "noose issue" because, they said, the matter had been fully addressed and resolved. At the same time, disciplinary action against the students who had organized the resistance was greatly intensified.
On Thursday, November 30, 2006, a massive fire largely destroyed the academic wing of the Jena High School. Officials strongly suspect arson. During the following weekend, a number of incidents occurred (see Government Orchestrates Guilty Verdict, above).
Shortly after the lunch hour on Monday, December 4, 2006, a fight between a white student and a black student reportedly ended with the white student being knocked to the floor. Several black students reportedly attacked the white student as he lay unconscious. Because the incident took place in a crowded area and was over in a matter of seconds eye witness accounts vary widely. Written statements from students closest to the scene (in space and time) suggest that the incident was sparked by an angry exchange in the gymnasium moments before in which the black student assaulted at the Fair Barn was taunted.
Within an hour of the fight, six African American students were arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder — charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. All six black students were expelled for the remainder of the school year.
Alan Bean of Friends of Justice can be reached at 806-995-3353, 806-729-7889 or bean@cebridge.net.
[TOP]
Take Action to Defend the Jena Six
Friends of Justice organizes in poor communities across Texas and Louisiana to hold our criminal justice system accountable. Here are several ways to show your support for the Jena 6, all still facing possible prison terms of 20 years.
1. Organize a Protest in your City
If you are planning a Jena 6 protest in your city, post a comment on our website and we’ll publicize it on the blog. We recommend collaborating with an organization that can send a press release to your regional media outlets If you would like to get diverse faith communities involved in the protest, you might try consulting various online directories and meetup sites for social justice religious groups. We recommend the Sojourners Faith & Justice directory, which gives contact information for congregations and individuals who care about justice: http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=get_connected.directory
2. Sign the Petition!
Our partner organization Color of Change has prepared a petition that you can sign at http://colorofchange.org/jena/main.html.
3. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local paper
Editors really sit up and take notice when people write in about a particular event! Writing a Letter to the Editor gets more people to read about the Jena 6, and it also lets the media know that this is something their readers really care about!
4. Sign up for Action Updates on the Friends of Justice blog
We post regular updates on Jena on our blog: http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/blog
5) Support Friends of Justice as we continue our organizing for the Jena 6!
Thanks to everyone who has already taken action for the Jena 6 and donated to the work of Friends of Justice in Jena! And if you want to publicize an upcoming action on the behalf of the Jena 6, please post a comment to our blog and we will publicize it.
[TOP]
Day of Action to Defend the Jena Six
While thousands of people demonstrate to defend the Jena Six in Jena, Louisiana, September 20, actions were also organized across the south and nationwide. We list below a sample of these protests in various regions of the country. All events are for September 20 unless otherwise indicated. For more information see www.friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/blog.
South
Dallas, Texas, September 19: Prayer meeting and rally, St. Luke “Community” UMC; a joint campaign of organization and churches organized “Get on the Bus” campaign also sent buses to Jena.
Galveston, TX, Sept. 19: Leaflets demanding that Jena Six be Freed distributed at open mic night at Java’s Coffee House,
Austin, TX: March and Rally, University of Texas:
Houston TX: Confront the injustice of our racism riddled system of justice.
Marshall, TX: Wiley College Free the Jena 6 Rally
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Rally at the State Capitol
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sept. 19: Vigil and Rally at State Capitol, to Support the Jena 6, car convey to Jena action
New Orleans, LA., Sept. 19: Meeting to look into the timeline of events that led up to Sept 20, comparison of cases that have media coverage and those that do not.
Alexandria, LA: Rally and fundraiser for Jena 6
Harvey, LA: Vigil in support of the Jena 6
Little Rock, Arkansas: Vigil, University of Arkansas
Columbia, South Carolina, Sept. 19: Rally, poetry and prayer for Jena 6 at the State House
Memphis, Tennessee and the Tri-State Area: “Black Out” Wear BLACK all day to support Jena 6!
Nashville, TN: Prayer/Rally & Send Off, Tennessee State University; and a Remember the Jena 6 action
Athens, TN: Lighting the Flame for the Jena 6, Tennessee Wesleyan College
Atlanta, Georgia: Rally at City Hall and march to Fulton County Courthouse; Vigil/Story Circle for Jena 6/ Hurricane Katrina; protests using large store signs demanding Justice for the Jena 6 are also being organized
Lawrenceville, Ga: Rally: Standing Up For Justice! Free The Jena 6!
Troy, Alabama: Information and speakers defending the Jena Six and demanding justice.
Daytona Beach, Florida: Protest against racism & injustice, Bethune Cookman University.
East Coast
Potsdam, New York: Panel and discussion on the Jena 6 and their trial
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 19: Vigil: We, the students of Chestnut Hill College, will show our support for the rights of the Jena 6.
Pottstown PA, Sept. 19: Free Jena 6 Vigil/Informational Meeting
Pittsburgh, PA: An open forum about the events in Jena, LA as well as discussion of racial tension in the United States and what you can do about it.
Washington, DC: Rally and March at U.S. Capital
Midwest
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 19: A community meeting and vigil for the Jena 6, demanding the end to the blatant racism against these African-Americans
Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 19: Rallies on campuses and Vigil for the Jena 6, Daley Center Plaza
Richton Park, IL, Sept 19: Flyers will be given to commuters at the end of the day on Sept.19 and at the beginning of the day on Sept. 20 expressing our support for the Jena 6.
East Chicago, Indiana, September 19: Vigil and outreach, with call for all to wear black
Hammond, IN: Rally at Purdue University, Calumet in Hammond
Indianapolis, IN: Rally to Support the Jena 6
Big Rapids, Michigan: Meeting and discussion, Ferris State University
Cleveland, Ohio: March to Cleveland State University then Panel Discussion on Justice for Jena: How racism permeates our society.
Dayton, OH, Sept. 19: Prayers, singing, reflections on racism
West
Denver, Colorado: Vigil and Rally at Denver City Park and March to steps of the State Capitol. Students at Regis University will be handing out flyers and ribbons to show support for Jena 6 and a Speak Out for Jena 6 will take place at Blackberries.
Albuquerque, New Mexico: Jena 6 Rally
West Coast
Los Angeles, California, September 19& 20: March and Rally for Jena 6 and many other issues plaguing this country! Join us in this fight for what is right! All day vigil Sept. 20, Leimert Park
La Mirada, CA, Sept. 19: We are uniting students, faculty and friends at Biola University to oppose this injustice
Buena Park, CA, Sept.19-20: Informal gathering throughout the night of Sept. 19, plus on Sept. 20 all faiths or no faith are welcome. The vigil will be held in the driveway of my home.
Pomona, CA: Jena 6 March for Justice
Whittier, Ca: Whittier College Rally for the Jena 6
Fresno, CA.: Free the Jena 6 Rally! California State University
Claremont, CA: March throughout the Five Claremont Colleges to take a stand, as a community, against the unjust treatment of the Jena 6.
Berkeley, CA, Sept. 19: March for the Jena 6, from Berkeley to Oakland
Seattle, Washington: Vigil for Jena 6
Portland, Oregon: Rally to Defend the Jena 6