Thousands Head to Jena, La. for Protests

Hello Farai and crew I live in Windsor, a suburb of Detroit I try never to miss your show.Believe me we here in Canada have nothing like your show and this country never deals with racial issues.Harper just voted against human rights for aboriginals.Everyone who has a brain knows that these 6 young men are a subject of a very racist misjustice system.The positive thing is that it has unified most black people maybe not judge Thomas.But my question is why it takes a situation such as this before some of us get really angry? We need to get outraged when black men are killing each other.If we could only work together esp. economically & politically black power would be more than just a fist in the air.

Sent by raymond | 1:56 PM | 9-18-2007

Free our children. Drop the charges and free our children.

Sent by Carolyn | 7:03 PM | 9-18-2007

Jena happens every day for our sons. My son has been fighting a "rape" accusation for 2 years in additon to the devastating effects of a mental health condition. There needs to be the kind of oversight (in all the institutions impacting life in America) that only an international community could bring to the table. More often than not we know that justice is applied not only inequitably, but that it is often bent to the will of its gatekeepers in this country. My son has no criminal record/history yet his bail went from 300k to 500k because of what the black judge described as his "feeling about cases like this". Did anyone ever tell Judge Perker Meeks (Superior Court, SF) that an accusation is not the equivalent of a CONVICTION? The accuser was intoxicated and a doctor's examination revealed DNA from another individual YET my son spent 18 days in jail. He was not allowed the medications required to manage his conditions UNTIL he used a pencil to stab himself in the arms. The accuser was advised that her accusation described 4 felony offenses which, as the police told her, would send my son away "for a very long time". Each offense carries 8-12 years. I was told by my son's attorney (as her complaint was not investigated BEFORE my son was arrested) that HER STATEMENT AGAINST HIM was sufficient PROBABLE CAUSE. It was only after I could substantiate a probated settlement of my deceased mother's estate, that I could guarantee payment on a bond. I was later able to negotiate a lawyer's fee of 50k down to 25k (proceeds from mom's estate). Now, after almost two years, the accuser does not want to come to court (my son must make every appearance or his bail can be revoked) that the DA is trying to offer him a "deal" that, they say, carries no jail time, and no sexual predator labeling, in EXCHANGE for him AGREEING to a lesser plea. With these kind of justice-bending-anger-infused-interpretations of legal justice it can come down to what one of the Jena 6 mothers said: Pissing off a white man (in this country) can cost you your life. And, what does it tell you about how justice is administered in the US when the "Learning Tree" on the Jena HS campus was cut down? Well, here's the answer: Some folks would rather kill justice than have us be equal partners in the system. And as far as civil rights gains being eroded: had there really been any gains there is no way they could ever be eroded. Remember the "slave law" that stated,"No black man has any rights that a white man is bound to respect. That point of view is ALSO at the HEART of this matter.

Sent by Gloria Alee | 6:12 AM | 9-19-2007

The issue here is the same as most other "highly advertised" potential racial "eye catchers". First off, who cares if one of the juveniles was a football star??? What does that have to do w/ anything, other then the ability to stimulate another nerve in our brain,,saying awww poor kid..he could have been playing NFL..blah!...I mean really..his highschool sports status means nothing so why mention it?How come there's no reference made to his academic achievements???
Now the other issue w/ this media soaked disgrace to our country, I would hoope that if some kids hung noose's around our local school they'de get there asses kicked too, but from a legal stand point whats the penalty for displaying a noose?, now ask your self this, whats the penalty for assualt?,,,yes,yes I realize there is pride, morals, and anger fueling there desire to inflict pain...but if we all resulted in physical violence nothing would ever be resolved. I feel for the kids (men if you will) but crime is crime..if somebody throws a decapitated infant in my yard tonight, that doesn't give me the "right" to go kill him/her........Let's use our brains for one minute and flip-flop the scenario, yes noose's were wrong!...yes I would have liked to kick there asses too, but I also like my freedom...so I'd stop and think really hard..now what are some of the potential outcomes of my decisions at this moment? and just maybe i'd walk away a better man.

Sent by Travis | 3:09 PM | 9-20-2007

Travis has one of the most sensible posts I have seen on this thing anywhere.
Good job.

Sent by Tim | 4:10 PM | 9-20-2007

I don't know anyone who thinks what the boys did was excusable or debates whether they should be punished or not. Aggravated assault is a closer to what the penalty should be not attempted murder. Hanging nooses is considered hate crime in the United States the last I heard; I wouldn't have brought them up on full charges (they are kids) but I do believe that their punishment warranted more than just a few days off school to let them understand what they did was not to be tolerated.

Actually the real issue here is why this mess escalated the way it did. You can call them ???young men??? all you want but they are kids. Anyone with teenagers can vouch for that. I think calling our overgrown kids adults makes it easier to wipe our hands of our own responsibility. If those in there teens were more responsible and rational than we would have never created the laws to protect them and curtail their ability to make their own decisions. There was a lot of time and a lot of incidences in between the noose hanging and the beating. Where were the parents - Black and White??? Why was the option of acknowledging the seriousness of the act of hanging nooses not used? When scuffles started happening why didn't parents band together to stop their kids? The reactions these young people choose on both sides of this saga from beginning to end were allowed to happen while the school seems like it fueled the fire.

Now I here people in the town complaining about the town reputation. ???We don???t abide by racism. Now everyone thinks we do.??? If the principle didn???t punish my children properly for something I would have made sure they were.

We will always have these ugly inconveniences rearing their heads as long as adults that set the stage for the emotional trauma, noose hangings, beatings and worse. Why did one child believe he needed permission to sit under the tree? Why does a non homogeneous community???s children need to segregate themselves along racial lines when the community has had that composition for over one hundred years? Toddlers will play with each other just fine without discerning race; a few generations should have put an end to that. If we had become as racially advanced as we claim why aren???t our children modeling it? What steps has the school and the community taken to truly do away with this sickness?

This situation has been created and exacerbated by adults and the kids are being persecuted for our mess.

We can point fingers at each other Black and White saying the other is over reacting regarding this and other issues around race but that is not what solves anything. It hasn???t yet. I don???t know if we ever will be strong enough to actually talk about these issues the way we should (like people who truly respect the other side opinion and feelings with the will to take responsibly for our own funk).

If that happened from the beginning this would not have happened.

Sent by Tate | 7:10 PM | 9-22-2007