It is good to see that some commonsense is breaking out in Jena, LA. The charges against the Jena Six -- the Black Louisana high school students charged with attempted murder for a school fight in which a white student was beaten up -- have not been dropped or overturned. However, the local school board did cut down the tree in the schoolyard.
Villagers recall that this American tragedy began when a fight broke out after white students hung three nooses from this tree where the Black students had sat. Click here to read the complete facts on the Jena 6 case.
The tree had been commonly reserved for the enjoyment of white students. Amazing the crap that is still going on in our country. We live in the 21st century and there are still subtle 'Whites-Only' signs in our community. Anyhow, the photo above shows that all that remains of the big shade tree is a stump.
A clean slate," LaSalle Parish School Board member Billy Fowler said of why the tree was cut down in the past few weeks. "There's nothing positive about that old tree. It's all negative. And I'm serving on the new School Board, and we're wanting to start fresh on some things."
Fowler said the tree eventually would have been cut down for construction purposes, but that he also is hopeful its removal will help heal old wounds.
"School's about to start," he said. "We don't want the Blacks coming back up there looking at the tree knowing what happened, or the whites. We just want to start fresh."
Amazing how reasonable folks get when hundreds of people drive into your town to let you and the other 2,970 residents know of the international support that flows to the six young brothers whose lives have been tossed about by the Jena legal system.
The AfroSpear is committed to keeping a vibrant flow of information on this issue as it still doesn't get the play in the traditional media that it deserves. Personally, I hope that all villagers are sharing information with as many people as possible. We never want to see this Jenacide again in our nation.
A clean slate," LaSalle Parish School Board member Billy Fowler said of why the tree was cut down in the past few weeks. "There's nothing positive about that old tree. It's all negative. And I'm serving on the new School Board, and we're wanting to start fresh on some things."
Fowler said the tree eventually would have been cut down for construction purposes, but that he also is hopeful its removal will help heal old wounds.
"School's about to start," he said. "We don't want the Blacks coming back up there looking at the tree knowing what happened, or the whites. We just want to start fresh."
Amazing how reasonable folks get when hundreds of people drive into your town to let you and the other 2,970 residents know of the international support that flows to the six young brothers whose lives have been tossed about by the Jena legal system.
The AfroSpear is committed to keeping a vibrant flow of information on this issue as it still doesn't get the play in the traditional media that it deserves. Personally, I hope that all villagers are sharing information with as many people as possible. We never want to see this Jenacide again in our nation.
Have any of the national candidates for president talked about the Jena Six yet?
16 comments:
"he also is hopeful its removal will help heal old wounds."
Freeing and exhonerating the 6 political prisioners would be most helpful in healing old wounds.
Yobachi - Yes, they are political prisoners ... and hopefully, we can use political power to get them free.
Hi Villager,
Thanks for taking time and trouble to leave a comment in my post Make clickable picture and expressing your appreciation.
Peter (Blog*Star 2006 and 2007)
Testing Blogger Beta (now New Blogger)
I am amazed of what goes on in this world. Sometimes I even wonder why we still bother to fight and they I know it is all worthed... For people like you.
Do you write for a local newspaper? I think you should.
Politicians tend to ignore blogs especially if they don't have enough authority. (I mean in SE ranks and social media communities). But there are many politic blogs that do have that authority. I think it is better to network with these than try to make it at BTF.
Try Media Lizzy and Jon Harmon (he is a PR) and there might be many others I don't know about.
The reason I am telling you this is that you raise important questions here, and they should be answered.
All my love,
Mig
Mig - No, I'm not a reporter. I just enjoy writing this blog. I will check out the resources that you suggest. Thank you very much for taking time to visit with us!
peace, Villager
Did you get that bogus email from the Gov's office in LA? It was all about how the legislative and judicial systems are different branches of government and they expect that the judicial branch will do their job. It was a bunch of BS
Chopping down "the hanging tree" is the first sign of concession. It is not a victory by any stretch of the imagination, but rather an acknowledgement that Jena is beginning to feel the pressure of having the international spotlight on it. Of course, there is a racist backlash brewing (more about that later).
Having dealt with the obstinate US media extensively, I found it best to publish stories like the Jena 6 and ShaQuanda Cotton overseas first. Other countries are deeply interested in what happens in America. Almost everything about US life makes news overseas. Once the story hits Europe, it bounces back into the state. Sweden and Brazil were the first two countries outside the US to spread the ShaQuanda Cotton case after the Chicago Tribune.
The AfroSpear has a greater influence on the national and international media than most people can think or imagine.
Natalie - Yes, it appears that the governor's office created a 'canned' reply about the three branches of the government for anyone that asked her to deal with the Jena 6 issue. I think that the force of the protests will overcome her weak actions to date.
Eddie - Thank you for sharing the strategy. I imagine that our effort is to publish on the world-wide-web and hoping that it gets out to those that need to see it.
peace, Villager
Natalie - Yes, it appears that the governor's office created a 'canned' reply about the three branches of the government for anyone that asked her to deal with the Jena 6 issue. I think that the force of the protests will overcome her weak actions to date.
Eddie - Thank you for sharing the strategy. I imagine that our effort is to publish on the world-wide-web and hoping that it gets out to those that need to see it.
peace, Villager
If y'all think they cut that tree down to "help heal old wounds", y'all really don't understand those people.
Anon - To be clear, it is the school board member who thinks that healing will begin with the cutting down of the tree. I doubt that any villager thinks that this is the endgame ... but, it is a decent start to the process.
peace, Villager
As a white woman, I'm appalled at what still goes on. My heart aches for those that have been treated unjustly. Praying that they will be vindicated and their lost time redeemed and rewarded. Blessings for all those finding a way to be heard!
I'm still amazed that I had not heard this, well, not so amazed, more like disappointed. These issues should be making national headlines, and somehow, they just slide under the radar.
I was born in the 60's, and growing up in a suburban white neighborhood, my parents simply didn't talk about race issues. As I got older, it was dismaying to learn about the things that had been happening that I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT!
How do you NOT talk about things like Birmingham, and Montgomery, and little kids getting dogs and firehoses turned on them, and MLK...as far as I can remember, they were not even topics for discussion in my home growing up! Now I see it happening again in this country and I'm outraged.
Thanks for keeping this on your radar and for posting about it. I'm inspired to make a better effort to educate myself and to continue to speak out against injustice.
Daisy - The good thing is that we can learn new ways of talking with our children and others in our sphere of influence. Hopefully, we will do better.
peace, Villager
I'm disgusted that they've cut the Jena Tree down. The problem was never the tree. The tree was providing shade. The problem was the nooses and the people who put them there.
The truth is that if you cut down every single tree in Jena, it wouldn't help Jena as much as some psychiatric counseling for those local citizens who may be found to be suffering from Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder. The problem is Extreme Color-Aroused Ideation, Emotion and Behavior, and that cannot be addressed by cutting down trees! Nice try!
Francis - Good insights on the situtation. It should be interesting to see how the dynamics of local politics changes with the protest tomorrow.
peace, Villager
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