Comments on: Jena Six

By: Josh Brewer

Josh Brewer — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:36:17 +0000

I, too, listened to those radio programs and lamented the silence of the TV on Jena. The January/February 2008 Atlantic has an excellent piece by Amy Waldman entitled “The Truth about Jena: Why America’s Black-and-White Narratives about Race Don’t Reflect Reality.” She digs into the background of Mychal Bell’s family and into the whitewashed world of J. Reed Walters, the district attorney, to tell a far more plausible story (albeit with the advantage of hindsight and research) than most I’ve heard. The segregated south never really went away. Jena is a poster child for the history-never-happened rural south.
Also, note the recent voting patterns in Professor Dawes’s state of South Carolina: even among Democrats there was what a wise man once (a century ago) called “the color line,” a point of demarcation that is as clear today as it ever was. As clear as the confederate flag that still flies in front of the statehouse in Columbia, SC.

By: Broderick Blacksher

Broderick Blacksher — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:32:05 +0000

To even imagine the injustice that was served to these young black boys you will have to wonder. You have to first think about why they was issued the punishments they recieve. Second, you will have to understand that the fight was on and off campus; it just was at a gas station too. This brings the DA the cause to do whatever he wanted to do. Yes this was a very stupid trial because a little schoolyard fight happens every week at school campuses across the country.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:28:02 +0000

Thanks for your strong voice! Whatever the facts and whoever the kids involved, a schoolyard fight should never be grounds for a 22 year prison sentence! For the D.A. to claim that race isn’t involved in this case is such bull****. If we don’t recognize racism for what it is, how can we begin to solve its injustice?

By: Detonda Woolfolk

Detonda Woolfolk — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:08:21 +0000

What are people thinking if you want to be fair then be fair because nothing is right about convicting someone for something not even close to doing.And if they think the white kids was just joking then the fight was just a joke also.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:00:27 +0000

Is there any formal document that talks about the facts of the case? Most of the information out there comes from newspapers and online articles. It would be nice to have some concrete facts. Newspapers and other media are not always reliable.

By: Nick Twemlow

Nick Twemlow — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:09:05 +0000

I went searching for more information, Kwame, after reading your post, and found this interesting site on the Jena 6, complete with multimedia: http://www.whileseated.org/

By: Rich Villar

Rich Villar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:58:00 +0000

This needs to be addressed in as many forums as possible, since the mass media won’t do their jobs. Thanks for bringing it up HERE, and for bringing your art into the conversation.
Rich.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:28:14 +0000

Kwame,
Thank you thank you for mentioning the atrocities in Jena. It’s the changing same in many ways but you are dreadfully right about the eroding empathy among minorities. This new startling thing. I don’t want to imagine the metaphors for that.

By: Tara Betts

Tara Betts — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:35:24 +0000

Thanks for writing about this, Kwame. Many people are writing letters to the D.A. and the judge now to prevent further action against the teens Mychal Bell and Theodore Shaw. One website that may be helpful for others is Jena6justice[dot]com.
take care,
Tara