The Jena Six - Racism in Small Town Life Louisiana
Jena Gets the Blame Over and Over
There have been so many stories printed about this particular case. Being a resident of the small town of Jena, I know a little more of the truth about what has happened here in Jena, and to clarify a few things, I thought I would take the time to do an editorial on it, here, so all could see.
Yes, it is true in December of 2006, Justin Barker was jumped on at school, not by six black students, but by 3. I think Justin got his ego bruised and decided to say that there were more jump on him than actually did. So at the very least 3 of the kids, I believe are innocent.
Justin Barker repeatedly called these young black men the "N" word, which I refuse to use, because I deem it to be vulgar. That is the first truth I think so many should know.
I also know that when Mychael Bell was arrested for his part in the beating of Justin Barker, he was not only not living with his mother, but was in fact living with a prominent white family in Jena. This is not a fact that the media ever released. I do believe the attempted murder charge was just an ego stroke for the LaSalle Parish D.A. Reed Walters. I think this child was being punished too harshly, and that maybe Justin Barker should have been charged with some sort of hate crime for continually verbally abusing Mychael Bell.
The town of Jena is being blamed for so many racial issues that are now taking place all over the United States, but the fact of the matter is this:
The media that was crawling all over Jena overstated the facts, they added what they wanted to add and took away what they wanted removed for their content. This is known as "Sensational Journalism." But somewhere in here, the truth should have been told, rather than make the whole town of Jena look bad, and look prejudice they should have spoken the truth, as they were told it.
The truth of the matter is that in this small town, all of our children in schools, especially Jena High School, get along great. These children, even in the face of adversity throughout this media circus, have managed to stay grounded and focused on what was and is important to them. And that is their friends and friendships.
Jena is nowhere near the little back woods racist town, that the media has made it out to be, rather a very nice place to settle down and raise a family.
Published by jenn white
I am a 32 year old stay at home mom of 2 children. I like to do work from home for extra cash especially this time of the year. I have worked very hard on alot of different articles that I hope my readers w... View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentI am adding my comment way too late but I just found out about this site. I appreciate your comments and am saddened at the same time. I love Louisiana but the race relations in this country as a whole is horrible. 'Black' president or no it still is out there and I believe since he has been elected everyone with a hood has put it on. I appreciate the honesty that you put in your report and I pray everyday that we all can get over it. God bless you for trying to do the right thing. Some people will never learn and in that regard I grieve but you my dear are a saint for at least trying to set the record straight!
ct'd Post #3
(grouped together) a male white student. They pushed one repeatedly; Shaw bumped shoulders with one of them; one was gathered around and some of Bailey's friends said "Beat his *ss Bailey!"; one was told "You're next" after they beat Barker.
I disagree with racial slurs every bit as much as you do, but I don't believe it's a crime to say the "n" word or any other racial slur. It's insensitive and wrong, but I don't believe it should be illegal.
ct'd Post #2
HER race. Wouldn't you think she'd put that in her statement?
You say that only 3 students attacked Barker, but notice that the statement REPEATEDLY implicated 8 people, 9 in total.
The following people were implicated as attacking Barker (kicking or punching) in these statements:
Robert Bailey was pegged by 11 statements.
Theo Shaw and Mychal Bell was pegged by 7 statements.
Carwin Jones was pegged by 6 statements.
Jesse Ray Beard was pegged by 3 statements.
D.J. (was never arrested) was pegged by 3 statements.
Bryant Purvis was pegged by one (I think he is innocent).
"Bug" was pegged by 3 or 4 statements.
This DOES NOT include the statements that mention these names being around or over Barker's body but not directly saying they punched or kicked him.
So the evidence is much more compelling once you look at the eye witness statements.
And if you'll read these statements in their entirety, you'll notice the same black students threatening (gr
Jenn: I appreciate you getting on here and trying to make people understand this issue in a more factual light, but I do have to disagree with you on some things.
I, too, am from Jena. I've read the eye witness statements and SOME (not all) of the court transcripts from the case.
If you want to read the eye witness statements, you can either go to the courthouse and purchase copies ($1 a page), or you can go here:
http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/003979.html
Someone has put them online. The original documents along with the transcripts.
You say Justin Barker hurled a bunch of racial slurs at Mychal Bell, but look at the "Unidentified Witness" that has 4 pages of statements. She is a female black student who chose to remain anonymous. She gives details about the lunch room argument. She says Justin Barker flipped Bell the bird, but she never says he said a racial slur. You don't find that strange? She was right there, and the slur would be directed at
Alyce Rocco
There were over 30 witnesses, both black and white who named these boys as the attackers. These witnesses have had threats made against them if they testify also. They are now all saying they were not involved. If they are not involved, it will come out at their trials. There was no white only sign in Jena just as there never has been a "white" tree. That is another myth the media has fed all the gullible people in the world.
I appreciate your article. All towns have their bad eggs, but they should never be held up as an example of the average citizen, although, as you stated, it DOES sell more papers that way! Oh, and John Cougar Mellencamp has already released a song, "Jena", which I feel paints Jena in a very unflattering light. I am glad you defended your hometown against the yellow journalism that seems to be more profitable than the TRUTH!
I hope you understand what I am trying to say, probably trying inadequately to say, is that what has happened in your hometown reflects feelings that people are feeling "nationally" -- it is not like we think everything is OK in race relations and justice except for this spotlight problem in Jena. What has happened is that your hometown has become an example, and what I put in my msg below is another example from a NORTHERN town. Before I bleed any more words, does this make sense? Because I can see Jenn White, irony aside in what happens to be your God-given name, that you take a lot of pride in your home community and furthermore that you are very sincere in expressing your feelings. I hope what I'm telling you is cutting clear, that we have issues in MY own hometown and in no way would I try to isolate YOUR own home community of Jena as some sort of problem spot. We all need to get our act together nationwide.
which has made this scenario all the more significant. (dang, I only went like two words over the msg limit.)
Jenn White, Thank You for sharing what you have shared. I am a person "from outside" who has taken an interest in "The Jena 6" and indeed have caught myself being too judgmental at times. But if I am way up here in Saginaw, Michigan, and perceive there are indeed some racial issues in your community -- such as you need to get that Walters dude removed from office if at all possible within your local control -- I am not judging you because in Saginaw we have some biases that are equally as deep. A few years ago in Saginaw, we had a couple of Black teens who were kidnapped by a pair of off-duty White cops; the one White cop perceived that one of the Black kids was whistling at his wife. Sort of like an Emmitt Till saga, except fortunately the Black kid "only" was kidnapped, not thrown into our version of the Tallahatchee river. But Jenn White, we do not rise in judgment of Jena; we see what happened in Jena as a reflection upon our whole nation, which has made this scenario all the mor
Most people believe the media hype and have tried, judged, convicted 6 teens. DA Walter's (and the media) has prejudiced the case making it impossible for the boys to have fair and impartial trials. This article cleared up some confusion for me, because I have seen and read interviews that 2 of the kids said they did not get to the fight until it was over and someone commented on a 3rd saying likewise. I think, if I were, them, seeing a "Whites Only" sign on a town barber shop, would be a constant insult to me. What some people on the Town Talk forum say, points to a slightly different image of Jena as having no racial issues. Thanks for sharing this.