WHAT WILL WE  DO FOR THE JENA SIX

 by P. "Jahbril" Bryant

Here we are nearly a year later from the anniversary of a small town protest awaiting the outcome of a trial that will determine the future of the first of six teens from Jena, Louisiana. Who could’ve known that a few teens exercising their right to share some shade under a tree would’ve escalated to an attempted murder trial.  Now with their futures in the balance these six teens and their families each wait their turn to be judged.  In brief the story goes like this; at this high school in Jena, Louisiana there’s a tree that is supposedly ‘for whites only’.  One day some black students got the idea that they would like to sit under this tree as well, and why not?  This created a chain reaction of events including threats by the Assistant District Attorney to ruin the lives of the students that participated in this little protest if they didn’t disband.  The attack and assault of a black teenager by several whites at a party intended for white patrons only, an altercation at a gas station involving a white male with a rifle and young black men, and finally the assault of a white student by six black teens that left the white student unconscious that lead to the arrest of the now dubbed Jena Six on second degree attempted murder charges.

Due to the national exposure this case has been getting and pressure being applied by different activist groups the District Attorney’s Office has seen it fit to reduce the charges to lesser offenses.  Unfortunate for Mychal Bell, [the first of these six teens to be tried] his case was already underway by the time the media showed up.  But does this change of heart mean blind justice will be served or will it be just us serving the oh so harsh sentence laid down by a Jim Crow judicial system.

I’m almost tempted to ask how this can be.  In this day and age how can we still be subject to such unfairness in the judicial system?  With all the advancements in science and technology, how is it that we remain in the dark ages when it comes to issues of justice and equality, concepts like honor and respect or just plain human decency?  I say almost because it comes as no surprise to me.  Ignoring a problem does not make it go away.  Pretending that it does not exist does nothing to weaken its presence.  The issue of racism in America is not a problem we can place in the corner by itself and expect to correct itself.  And until we take a proactive stance on the fight against ignorance we will continue to repeat these self destructive cycles of abuse upon our fellow man.

I’m quite sure you’d be hard pressed to find a person of color that believes racism no longer exists.  However, a comfortable life has the tendency to place those things that are out of site out of mind.  Furthermore, as pleased as I am to see our leaders come to the aid of these six black teens from Jena, I am just as troubled to know that it took the amount of time it did to take action.  Now, while our attention is focused on the events transpiring in Jena there is another injustice taking place somewhere else.  And what will we do to ensure that we [people of color] have proper representation and a voice, which can heard across the globe, calling to arms all those who are willing to fight for what’s right.

Take a stance, get involved.

P. Jahbril Bryant

      http://freethejena6.org/

 To sign the petition and get more on the Jena Six story click link above.