Thousands rally to support Jena 6

• By SANDY DAVIS
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Sep 21, 2007 - Page: 1A

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Before the sun rose over Jena on Thursday, scores of buses from as far away as Illinois and Georgia rolled into town delivering thousands of people to a rally for six black teenagers charged with beating a fellow white student in December.

People filed off the buses carrying coolers and protest signs, sometimes with children in tow, and headed to the LaSalle Parish Courthouse on First Street or to the Ward 10 Recreational District park — the meeting points for two rallies.

Within a short time it was wall-to-wall people standing in front of the courthouse chanting, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and “We want justice now.”

Nearly everyone wore black T-shirts and many had on black pants or shorts. Almost all of the T-shirts had slogans supporting the six black teens, known as the Jena 6.

“I got on the bus at 2 p.m. (Wednesday) in Orlando, Florida, and traveled all night to get here,” said Mary Graham-Lawrence. “I’m in education and I’m appalled at how these six boys were treated. I wouldn’t have missed this rally. I’m concerned about equal justice; it should be handed out the same to everyone but that’s not happening here and that’s why we’re here.”

By the State Police’s estimate, 15,000-20,000 demonstrators poured into this town of 2,900 people to support the black teens charged with attacking white student Justin Barker on Dec. 4 at Jena High School.

LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters charged five of the teens in adult court with attempted second-degree murder. Later, as the boys were arraigned, Walters reduced the charges to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy. The sixth teen was charged as a juvenile.

Bell hearing by Monday
Only Mychal Bell, 17, has been tried and convicted — by an all-white jury in June. Thursday’s rally originally was planned to support him after he was scheduled for sentencing Thursday. But the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles overturned Bell’s conviction Sept. 14, saying he should have been tried in juvenile court.

For the past 10 months, Bell has been in jail on a $90,000 bail. He is the only one of the Jena 6 still jailed. But the 3rd Circuit on Thursday ordered a hearing by Monday to find out why Bell still is behind bars.

The demonstrators at Thursday’s rally did not know about the court-ordered hearing and said they also wanted to know why Bell was still in jail.

Walters spoke Wednesday for the first time to reporters since he filed the charges against the six, saying he planned to appeal the 3rd Circuit’s decision to overturn Bell’s conviction.

Walters said the case isn’t about race. He said the series of events that started in August 2006 at the school played no role in the December beating, including three nooses hung in a schoolyard tree.

Students found the ropes in the tree the day after a black student asked at an assembly whether he could sit under the tree traditionally used by white students.