USA: Civil rights groups to march in Louisiana town of Jena to support six black teenagers charged over a high school fight

Civil rights groups hope to see tens of thousands of demonstrators descend on a small Louisiana town on Thursday (September 20) to support six black teenagers charged over a high school fight in a case that activists say reeks of lingering racism in the U.S. South. Many African Americans say the case of the "Jena 6", which started when three nooses were found hanging from a tree at the school that white students considered only they could sit under, is evidence of bias against young black males in the judicial system. They say it shows discrimination in rural southern towns in the south decades after racial segregation ended. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and other groups hope to bring tens of thousands of demonstrators to Jena, a town of about 3,000 some 120 miles (190 km) northwest of New Orleans. Last August three nooses were found hanging from a tree at Jena High School traditionally reserved for white students. A day earlier a black student asked the school principal for permission to sit underneath the tree. No students were expelled over the incident but the tree was cut down. Then in December, police charged five of the six black students with assault after a white student was beaten up. A sixth student was charged as a juvenile. The charges were later increased to attempted second-degree murder. Civil rights groups complained the charges were excessive and said no charges were brought against white students for comparable incidents in the town. Some said the fight was a direct result of increased racial tensions in the wake of the incident with the nooses. "We are not treated equal in this town. So, I'll just say that," said Tina Jones mother of accused student Bryant Purvis. One of the students, Mychal Bell, was convicted on reduced charges including aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy. Thursday's demonstration was scheduled to coincide with his sentencing but this month his conviction was overturned, in part because Louisiana's Third Circuit Court ruled that he should not have been tried as an adult. Charges against four of the remaining six were also reduced but civil rights groups said Bell's conviction by an all-white jury and the fact that his lawyer did not call witnesses in his defense showed discrimination. Prosecutor Donald Washington, U.S. Attorney in the western district of Louisiana, said there was no direct link between what happened in August and December and said the fight was motivated by "male bravado" rather than race.

ITN Source | September 20, 2007

Tags:. .advancement. .witnesses. .western. .earlier. .defense