I AM Jena 6
OUR GENERATION MUST START THE MOVEMENT
THE JENA 6 RALLY
It was a sight that brought tears to people's eyes.
More than 200 Morehouse, Clark Atlanta and Spelman students, most dressed in black, marching through the streets of downtown Atlanta on Sept. 18 chanting in unison "I am Jena 6." Their arms were interlocked as they carried banners and signs in support of the six black male high school students in Jena, La.
Many of the AUC students were dressed in their Sunday best, from suits and ties to dresses and heels. A group of Morehouse freshmen proudly wore the new maroon blazers they just received when they officially became men of Morehouse. Loud, but orderly, they were making a point -- injustice is intolerable anywhere.
The students marched and rallied Tuesday to show their support for the "Jena 6," six young black men in the small Louisiana town who faced long jail stints after beating up a fellow Jena High School student, a white male, in a racially-tinged fight in December 2006. Reports say the fight was the latest scuffle in a racially-based, back-and-forth that enveloped the school and the community for nearly a year.
The march was to raise awareness and support for the Jena 6, prod the media to more fiercely cover the issue and to speak out against injustice towards anyone. It is being followed by a bus trip to Jena on Wednesday night for some Atlanta University Center students to join a huge rally in support of the Jena 6.
The Jena 6 situation started when a black student asked the principal at Jena High School if he could sit under the "white tree," a tree on campus where white students gathered. The principal said the student could sit anywhere he wanted. But a day later, three nooses were hung from the tree.
The incident, which would have qualified as a federal hate crime, was never reported and the white students who hung the nooses were only suspended a few days.
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concussion, but allegedly went out later that night.
The Jena 6 was eventually charged with attempted second-degree murder, which outraged black residents who thought the charges were far too harsh for the crime. The first Jena 6 defendant, Mychal Bell, saw his charges reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery (the other five defendants also saw those charges reduced). But that charge requires the use of a deadly weapon during a crime and could result in a long stint in jail.
District Attorney Reed Walters contends Bell used his tennis shoe as a deadly weapon. Bell was found guilty of that charge and faced a sentence of up to 22 years in jail during a hearing that was scheduled for Sept. 20.
That hearing is now moot as a court eventually threw out Bell's conviction, saying he should have been tried as a juvenile instead of an adult. Reports say Walters plans to appeal that ruling.
Nearly all the protestors agreed that the whole situation isn't just some black-white issue.
"I feel like we're showing the world that there is a social consciousness with this (younger) generation," said Reginald McKinley, a Morehouse College senior and one of the leaders of the student marchers. "Jena 6 is a vehicle, basically. We needed something that wakes everyone else up and Jena happened to be there.
Matthew Pigatt, another senior at Morehouse and march leader, echoed those concerns.
"Our generation must start the movement," he said. "This just may be that spark."
The AUC students gathered in the area between Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College at midday and then made the 45-minute walk to Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.
Drivers honked their horns and waved while people peeked outside of their apartments and work places as the group streamed by, chanting and singing songs like “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing," "Lean On Me" and "We Shall Overcome."
Tiffany Andrews, a Decatur resident who was having lunch at CNN Center when the students marched by, raised her right fist in salute to the group in between snapping pictures with her cell phone.
"To see my brothers and sisters like this--it just really makes me happy," she said. "I'm trying not to cry right now."
"It's heartwarming," said Lowell Dickerson, who ran out from Paschal's Restaurant, a key meeting place and feeding spot during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. "To see them do that says we have not become so comfortable."
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THIS HAS BEEN A LESSON ABOUT LIFE
WE HAVE MADE HISTORY
THERE'S A JENA IN EVERY STATE
TO SEE YOUNG PEOPLE STARTING TO TAKE CHARGE, IT'S WONDERFUL
WE HAVE YOUNG ADULTS STANDING UP FOR YOUNG ADULTS
OUR GENERATION MUST START THE MOVEMENT
