By Scotty Reid July 27, 2007
A new twist emerged in the “Jena Six” case involving six black high school children in Jena, Louisiana who were bogusly charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy by Jena Prosecutor Reed Walters after he threatened to “end the lives of black students with a stroke of a pen”. The students he threatened which teacher Michelle Rogers overheard were protesting the Jena School Board’s decision to overrule the principle who wanted to expel the three white youths who committed a Hate Crime by hanging nooses in a tree that was the subject of a dispute between some black and white students. A brief account of events surrounding the “Jena Six” is found in the blog post “Conspiracy Against Rights And Police Misconduct Found In Jena, Louisiana” which has links to several other related articles. An excellent chronology of events can be found on a blog post on the website “Pursuing Holiness.
The chain of events was started when a few black students, who wanted to sit under a particular tree that white students believed belonged to them only, asked an Assistant Principle if they could sit under the tree and were given permission. Yes, in America in the 21st Century, black people are subjected to an environment that goes back to the days when lynchings were common. The point that the three nooses found the next day hanging from the “whites only” tree was a threat and meant to intimidate the black student population from excising their civil right to move freely about campus should not even be open to debate. Apparently, it is, sort of, the Jena School Board decided it was a youthful prank and did not warrant the expulsion the three guilty students which sparked the student protest. Perhaps the parents of a few of the black students would have informed the Jena School Board how threaten their children felt if they had been given their right to speak at the school board meeting. According to the blog post on Pursuing Holiness, news reports stated that the parents were not allowed to speak and register their complaint about the noose incident, which was also a violation of their Constitutional First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. So here we have a government body (Jena School Board) and a government official (Jena District Attorney), both violating the civil rights of parents and students in an attempt to keep a hate crime of racial intimidation quiet.
The Louisiana Chapter of the NAACP led by Dr. Ernest Johnson, held a community meeting on July 26th to address the issues surrounding the “Jena Six” case. Dr. Johnson told me by phone that he was encouraged by the turn out of about 150 people from Jena, La and surrounding areas, both black and white citizens. He stated that usually these meetings have a very low turnout. Also in attendance were agents from the FBI and the Louisiana Western District US Attorney Donald Washington. Dr. Johnson told me that the attendees were treated to a power point presentation which he did not elaborate on will divulge the information when he appears as a guest on One Black Man’s View this Sunday afternoon. What Dr. Johnson did tell me is that he and other attendee’s both black and white were concerned about US Attorney Donald Washington’s statement that he was leaning towards sharing the view with the Jena School Board that the noose hanging incident was a harmless youthful prank.
US Attorney Donald Washington was appointed to his position by President Bush in 2001. Because he is a black man old enough and educated enough, you would assume he knows the terrorist symbolism of the noose to blacks especially in the South. (Please Take Our Readers Poll located top right)
A new twist emerged in the “Jena Six” case involving six black high school children in Jena, Louisiana who were bogusly charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy by Jena Prosecutor Reed Walters after he threatened to “end the lives of black students with a stroke of a pen”. The students he threatened which teacher Michelle Rogers overheard were protesting the Jena School Board’s decision to overrule the principle who wanted to expel the three white youths who committed a Hate Crime by hanging nooses in a tree that was the subject of a dispute between some black and white students. A brief account of events surrounding the “Jena Six” is found in the blog post “Conspiracy Against Rights And Police Misconduct Found In Jena, Louisiana” which has links to several other related articles. An excellent chronology of events can be found on a blog post on the website “Pursuing Holiness.
The chain of events was started when a few black students, who wanted to sit under a particular tree that white students believed belonged to them only, asked an Assistant Principle if they could sit under the tree and were given permission. Yes, in America in the 21st Century, black people are subjected to an environment that goes back to the days when lynchings were common. The point that the three nooses found the next day hanging from the “whites only” tree was a threat and meant to intimidate the black student population from excising their civil right to move freely about campus should not even be open to debate. Apparently, it is, sort of, the Jena School Board decided it was a youthful prank and did not warrant the expulsion the three guilty students which sparked the student protest. Perhaps the parents of a few of the black students would have informed the Jena School Board how threaten their children felt if they had been given their right to speak at the school board meeting. According to the blog post on Pursuing Holiness, news reports stated that the parents were not allowed to speak and register their complaint about the noose incident, which was also a violation of their Constitutional First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. So here we have a government body (Jena School Board) and a government official (Jena District Attorney), both violating the civil rights of parents and students in an attempt to keep a hate crime of racial intimidation quiet.
The Louisiana Chapter of the NAACP led by Dr. Ernest Johnson, held a community meeting on July 26th to address the issues surrounding the “Jena Six” case. Dr. Johnson told me by phone that he was encouraged by the turn out of about 150 people from Jena, La and surrounding areas, both black and white citizens. He stated that usually these meetings have a very low turnout. Also in attendance were agents from the FBI and the Louisiana Western District US Attorney Donald Washington. Dr. Johnson told me that the attendees were treated to a power point presentation which he did not elaborate on will divulge the information when he appears as a guest on One Black Man’s View this Sunday afternoon. What Dr. Johnson did tell me is that he and other attendee’s both black and white were concerned about US Attorney Donald Washington’s statement that he was leaning towards sharing the view with the Jena School Board that the noose hanging incident was a harmless youthful prank.
US Attorney Donald Washington was appointed to his position by President Bush in 2001. Because he is a black man old enough and educated enough, you would assume he knows the terrorist symbolism of the noose to blacks especially in the South. (Please Take Our Readers Poll located top right)
I was compelled to look up information regarding Donald Washington’s background to get a clue of why he would lean towards viewing this as a prank. Like another black appointee of Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Mr. Washington worked in the oil industry for the company Conoco. He held various positions with Conoco from 1982-1996 and was at one time its Chief Counsel in its Gulf of Mexico Division up until his departure. In addition to his duties as US Attorney, Mr. Washington also serves on embattled US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s Advisory Committee, the Anti-Terrorism Subcommittee, the Controlled Substance Subcommittee and Native American Issues Subcommittee. He also was a part of the failed “War on Drugs” campaign serving as the Chairman of the Southeast Region Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force which covers Atlanta. It is not know at this time if he played any advisory role in the scandalized political firings of the eight US Attorneys that is currently being played out in Washington.
As documented in the Civil Rights Statutes it is:
“unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person of any state, territory or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him/her by the Constitution or the laws of the United States, (or because of his/her having exercised the same).”
The admitted conspiracy involving three white students to hang nooses from the “white only” tree was clearly meant to intimidate black students from excising and enjoying the same right as whites to sit under a cool shade tree located on campus grounds. Sitting under a shade tree on public school grounds is a federally protected activity as describe in Title 18, U.S.C., Section 245:
"2) Prohibits willful injury, intimidation, or interference or attempt to do so, by force or threat of force of any person because of race, color, religion, or national origin and because of his/her activity as:b) a participant in any benefit, service, privilege, program, facility, or activity provided or administered by a state or local government;
3) Prohibits interference by force or threat of force against any person because he/she is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or class of persons from participating or affording others the opportunity or protection to so participate, or lawfully aiding or encouraging other persons to participate in any of the benefits or activities listed in items (1) and (2), above without discrimination as to race, color, religion, or national origin."
Other sections which may apply to the overall case include:
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242 - Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law
Title 42, U.S.C., Section 14141 - Pattern and Practice
It does not take a lawyer nor a judge to interpert in good faith the meaning of this section of this particular statute and as a US Attorney charged with protecting all citizen’s civil rights under the “Color Of The Law“, not skin, Mr. Washington should only be swayed by the law and not the arguments of those who perpetrated the Civil Rights violations. Further more he should not be swayed by the politicization of the US Justice Department and the Bush administration that has been increasingly hostile to the civil rights of citizens both black and white, Democrats and Republicans.
It is a fact that the children in the “Jena Six” case are on trial for their lives and futures because the Jena School Board did not treat a hate crime with the seriousness it deserved and over ruled the wise decision of the Jena High School Principle to expel the guilty parties. Considering the reports about the Jena School Board refusing to allow the parents of affected students to speak at a government sponsored meeting it seems they are consistent in their denial of Jena citizens federally protected rights. Perhaps the ACLU would be interested in assisting with this case as it appears at this point that US Attorney Donald Washington may not be inclined to represent the constituents of the Western District of Louisiana.
What can you do to help?
Of course prayer and spiritual support is always a help but it would also be helpful to add works to those prayers. You can send free faxes over the Internet to the Governor of Louisiana as well as Louisiana Congressional Representatives. Since this case has national implications in defining what constitutes a hate crime, you should also fax your own Congressional Representatives as well as the Democrat and Republican Leadership.
Representatives Serving Jena, La:
State Legislators:
Governor Kathleen Blanco (D), Fax: +1-225-342-7099
Senator Noble E. Ellington (D-LA 32nd), Fax: +1-225-342-0617
Representative Billy Chandler (D-LA 22nd), Fax: +1-318-899-1213
Federal Legislators:
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Fax: +1-504-589-4023
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) , Fax: +1-337-262-6373
Representative Rodney Alexander (R-LA 5th), Fax: +1-318-445-3776
United States Attorney's Office Western District of Louisiana,
Fax Civil: +1-318-676-3642
Right Click and Choose Open in New Window or Tab to open Free Fax Website. Be sure to enter the complete fax number including Country Code or copy and paste numbers as I have them listed!
Example with US Country Code: +(country code)(area code)(fax number)
+1-212-987-6543
2 comments:
This latest development involving the Justice Dept speaks to the government's inability or willingness to protect the rights of ALL it's citizens, especially those of us of color.
There is no question that civil rights violations occurred on various levels of this matter. How the Bush Administration is trying to whitewash it is reprehensible.
I urge everyone that reads about this case to take a minute to get involved. Sign the various petitions floating around online with regards to this, use the fax capability provided in this blog and fax the appropiate parties.....then get your friends to do the same. We cannot let this go unchecked.
I also found law that could have been used to prosecute the people that hung the nooses. I believe that the Riot and Civil Disorder statutes could be interpreted liberally to cover this conduct. In addition, I believe your statutes would be applicable as well. Granted, I haven't had the opportunity to review the case law because I don't have access to a legal database right now. Moreover, I found several statutes under Lousiana as well. There were potential violations of public intimidation, interference in operation of schools and terrorizing. There is law. It might not be on point law but there is law. I was shocked to find out that Donald Washington is black. However, I'm not so shocked by his actions after realizing he was appointed by President Bush. He's more than likely a Black Republican, which indicates he's a very conservative or career-first individual.
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