David O'Connell
The Jena 6 and the Most Beautiful Song in the World
August 15th 2007 23:52
Update (29/09): Thanks to Miswanderlust, who sent me this update on the Jena 6 trials. One of the teens will now be transferred to juvenille court.
Update: This article on Slate suggests that the situation in Jena may not be as black-and-white as originally reported.
Racism has always been a thorny shard of glass in my flank, and I'm always disappointed when I hear of incidents driven by racial hatred.
It's almost laughable... with the free transmission of cultural information across the Internet, people have access to all the information they need to dispel their stereotypes and misguided impressions. Unfortunately, as human beings, we're hard-wired to draw judgement, and, perhaps even worse, self-assemble with those that most resemble us.
I found this video on Fazed, and it's the first time I've heard of it. It regards the Jena Six, which refers to six black American students that are on trial for attempted murder of a white student.
Listening to the video, though, you can see the hypocrisy and obvious racism in the legal system.
Broken down into separate incidents, as described in the video, with my comments in italics:
1) A black student sat under a tree that is 'reserved' for white students. No word on whether an apple or any other fruit hit him on the head, thus inspiring him to rediscover gravity in the Louisiana backwaters.
2) Three nooses were painted in the school colours and hung from the tree. Painted in the school colours? Is that their mascot? They get a huge foam noose to do trampoline tricks and work the crowd at big football games?
3) The white students responsible for the nooses were expelled immediately. They were lucky to get expelled, and not something more permanent.
4) The superintendant overturned the decision, labelling it as a 'prank' and suspended the students for three days. 'Now y'all go on home and recuperate. Y'all have had a tough couple a days, what with all this talk of expellation... sit back, get some sweet tea, maybe some hot dogs, and come back in three days. We'll have a bake sale!'
5) Black students at the school had a protest, sitting under the 'white' tree, and the local DA claimed that he 'could end [their] lives with a stroke of a pen'. So this is where Harvey Dent has been hiding all these years?
6) Someone set the school building on fire. As Jimi said, 'Let me stand next to your fire'.
7) At a party, several white students beat a black student. 'I brought dip! Did anyone bring crackers?' 'Alls I got is this here black feller.' 'Get 'im, boys!'
8) No charges made.
9) A white man pulled a shotgun on three black students at a convenience store. They wrestle the gun away from him. 'Be vewy vewt quiet... I'm hunting bwack wabbits!'
10) The man wasn't charged, but the three boys were arrested for theft of a firearm. Aw, hells naw... you've GOT to be kidding me! What kind of farcical justice system is this?
11) Two days later, a white student was beaten by six black students, after yelling racial slurs and taunting them about the previous beating. The six black boys knocked him down, kicked and punched him. Even rappers are shy about using the N-word these days, and this white kid was happy to sling it around. What did he think was going to happen? The anger has not been defused from the word, and probably never will..
12) The white student had bruises on his face, was discharged from the hospital in a couple of hours and attended a 'social function'. 'Whoooo's ready for ballroom dancing?'
13) The six black students are charged with attempted second-degree murder and expelled from school. Why stop there? Might as well tack on something else, like 'urinating in a public water supply' or 'stealing an alligator'.
14) The families of the black students could not afford attorneys and two of the students were unable to post bail, meaning they've stayed in jail since the arrest. 'Aw, rice pudding for dessert - again??' No, these aren't Canadian prisons, sorry.
15) One student, Mychal Bell, had his trial. His court appointed defender reduced the crime to aggravated battery and conspiracy. Doesn't it sound like they got My Cousin Vinny?
16) Aggravated battery in Louisiana requires the use of a dangerous weapon. The prosecutor argued that Bell's tennis shoes were weapons. 'One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you...'
17) Though the district is 12% black, 50 potential jurors showed up, every one of them white. The odds of this happening randomly are about 0.2%
18) In front of an all-white jury (including 'two people friendly with the district attorney, a relative of one of the witnesses and several others who were friends of prosecution witnesses') and a white judge, Mychal Bell received a maximum of 22 years in prison.
Or, if you're sick of me and my comments, watch the video, or read Bill Quigley's article.
Sign a petition, or help with the campaign:
Justice for the Jena 6
Last week, in a fit of nostalgia, I remembered a record I had in Canada, which I'd play on Sunday mornings to lift my spirits. It's a song full of hope and joie de vivre, written in 1954 by Billy Taylor, used as an anthem for the Civil Rights movement in America in the 60s.
The version I have is by Nina Simone, and never have I heard a more beautiful song. It's not a song of anger or revolution, but a simple hopeful statement: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.
Not 'I Wish I Was Free', but how it would feel to be free. A small difference, but an important one.
Here's the original Billy Taylor instrumental.
The lyrics of the first verse:
It's ironic... the Civil Rights Movement ended in the 60s, but all the discrimination and hatred went underground, manifesting in a more cunning, shadier manner. If you ask me, in that part of the USA, Black Americans still don't know how it would feel to be free.
Update: This article on Slate suggests that the situation in Jena may not be as black-and-white as originally reported.
It's almost laughable... with the free transmission of cultural information across the Internet, people have access to all the information they need to dispel their stereotypes and misguided impressions. Unfortunately, as human beings, we're hard-wired to draw judgement, and, perhaps even worse, self-assemble with those that most resemble us.
I found this video on Fazed, and it's the first time I've heard of it. It regards the Jena Six, which refers to six black American students that are on trial for attempted murder of a white student.
Listening to the video, though, you can see the hypocrisy and obvious racism in the legal system.
Broken down into separate incidents, as described in the video, with my comments in italics:
1) A black student sat under a tree that is 'reserved' for white students. No word on whether an apple or any other fruit hit him on the head, thus inspiring him to rediscover gravity in the Louisiana backwaters.
2) Three nooses were painted in the school colours and hung from the tree. Painted in the school colours? Is that their mascot? They get a huge foam noose to do trampoline tricks and work the crowd at big football games?
3) The white students responsible for the nooses were expelled immediately. They were lucky to get expelled, and not something more permanent.
4) The superintendant overturned the decision, labelling it as a 'prank' and suspended the students for three days. 'Now y'all go on home and recuperate. Y'all have had a tough couple a days, what with all this talk of expellation... sit back, get some sweet tea, maybe some hot dogs, and come back in three days. We'll have a bake sale!'
5) Black students at the school had a protest, sitting under the 'white' tree, and the local DA claimed that he 'could end [their] lives with a stroke of a pen'. So this is where Harvey Dent has been hiding all these years?
6) Someone set the school building on fire. As Jimi said, 'Let me stand next to your fire'.
7) At a party, several white students beat a black student. 'I brought dip! Did anyone bring crackers?' 'Alls I got is this here black feller.' 'Get 'im, boys!'
8) No charges made.
9) A white man pulled a shotgun on three black students at a convenience store. They wrestle the gun away from him. 'Be vewy vewt quiet... I'm hunting bwack wabbits!'
10) The man wasn't charged, but the three boys were arrested for theft of a firearm. Aw, hells naw... you've GOT to be kidding me! What kind of farcical justice system is this?
11) Two days later, a white student was beaten by six black students, after yelling racial slurs and taunting them about the previous beating. The six black boys knocked him down, kicked and punched him. Even rappers are shy about using the N-word these days, and this white kid was happy to sling it around. What did he think was going to happen? The anger has not been defused from the word, and probably never will..
12) The white student had bruises on his face, was discharged from the hospital in a couple of hours and attended a 'social function'. 'Whoooo's ready for ballroom dancing?'
13) The six black students are charged with attempted second-degree murder and expelled from school. Why stop there? Might as well tack on something else, like 'urinating in a public water supply' or 'stealing an alligator'.
14) The families of the black students could not afford attorneys and two of the students were unable to post bail, meaning they've stayed in jail since the arrest. 'Aw, rice pudding for dessert - again??' No, these aren't Canadian prisons, sorry.
15) One student, Mychal Bell, had his trial. His court appointed defender reduced the crime to aggravated battery and conspiracy. Doesn't it sound like they got My Cousin Vinny?
16) Aggravated battery in Louisiana requires the use of a dangerous weapon. The prosecutor argued that Bell's tennis shoes were weapons. 'One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you...'
17) Though the district is 12% black, 50 potential jurors showed up, every one of them white. The odds of this happening randomly are about 0.2%
18) In front of an all-white jury (including 'two people friendly with the district attorney, a relative of one of the witnesses and several others who were friends of prosecution witnesses') and a white judge, Mychal Bell received a maximum of 22 years in prison.
Or, if you're sick of me and my comments, watch the video, or read Bill Quigley's article.
Sign a petition, or help with the campaign:
Justice for the Jena 6
Last week, in a fit of nostalgia, I remembered a record I had in Canada, which I'd play on Sunday mornings to lift my spirits. It's a song full of hope and joie de vivre, written in 1954 by Billy Taylor, used as an anthem for the Civil Rights movement in America in the 60s.
The version I have is by Nina Simone, and never have I heard a more beautiful song. It's not a song of anger or revolution, but a simple hopeful statement: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.
Not 'I Wish I Was Free', but how it would feel to be free. A small difference, but an important one.
Here's the original Billy Taylor instrumental.
The lyrics of the first verse:
"And I wish I knew how
It would feel to be free
I wish that I could break
All the chains holding me
I wish I could say
All the things that Id like to say
Say em loud say em clear
For the whole round world to hear"
It would feel to be free
I wish that I could break
All the chains holding me
I wish I could say
All the things that Id like to say
Say em loud say em clear
For the whole round world to hear"
It's ironic... the Civil Rights Movement ended in the 60s, but all the discrimination and hatred went underground, manifesting in a more cunning, shadier manner. If you ask me, in that part of the USA, Black Americans still don't know how it would feel to be free.
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Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
There are no words,,,,, thank you thank you for this post. The music is stunning! The post informative. The racism mindnumbing.
Mis
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Im a huge Nina Simone fan and this is one of her best too
Comment by Damo
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Damo - if free means totally controlled by someone else, then yes.
anon - Yeah, I read about that, John Denver also did a cover.
Comment by Nickoftime's Sanity Corner
great music and an even better slap in the head for racists!
A well done wonderful post on a timely topic! Nina Simone haunts my ITunes list as well, and this song gives me the shivers...
Take care,
Nick
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Here are some updates that might educate some of your readers.
CNN Link
More info
Mis
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Mis, thanks!
Comment by Anonymous
40 witness statements were taken (from white and black students) Not one of them linked the noose incedent and the beating.
The conviction rate of blacks and whites in Jena is proportianal to the racial make-up of the city's population.
The DA's 'stroke of a pen' comments were taken out of context. He happened to be talking to 3 white girls talking on thier cell phones. He wanted them to be quiet while he discussed the severity of an on going rape trial.
Bell has been arrested 4 times before the incident and has previously been convicted twice for assault.
The nooses were hung from the tree in response to the schools rodeo team. A black teacherr at the school stated that both black and white students were seen under the tree playing with the nooses.
While hanging nooses is in poor taste, its still free speech. It's the same as a religious fanatic holdng a sign saaying that all gays will burn in hell, or the groups of Jena 6 supporters suggesting that any white person living south of Ohio is a rascist. Most of us are not, and we work hard to fight this untrue stereotype.
The black boy beaten at the white party claimed that his injuries required him to get stitches at the hospital. There are no hospital records for him.
The white student was immediatly knocked unconcious, and the 6 boys continued to beat him causing a concussion. They continued to it and kick him while he was uncncious on the ground. The Jena 6 didn't walk away from him, but had to be pulled off.
The white boy did go to a social function: his high schools ring ceremony. Where his classmates give vivid descriptions of how disoriented he was, of how they had to lead him around as his vision was so blurred, of how they had to help keep him upright in his chair and to keep cleaning up the blood that seeped from his ears
Bell's punlic defender was black.
The black boys convicted of stealing the white man's gun: Several witness testimonies state that the white man was approached and hit by the black men, and ten they proceeded to take his gun.
There are still hate crimes committed aroung the country, and they are awful. Place your focus on a situation were clack people are really victims.