Jena: the Next Step
by Gary Younge
"Activists must leverage the attention that has been given
to the Jena 6 to raise the broader issues of social justice and racism."
This article originally appeared in The Guardian, UK.
The recent demonstration in Jena was a great success on
many fronts, but still has two important goals to achieve.
First the successes. It brought the argument to the people who needed to hear
it. I'm sure it convinced very few white people in Jena that hanging nooses is
more than a prank or that the judicial system is weighted against
African-Americans. From most of the quotes I've seen they are still in denial.
But I'm equally sure that it made any administrator, legislator, judge or
attorney there realize that much of the world does not share their standards.
This message reverberates beyond Jena. The notion that what happens in small
towns stays in small towns no longer holds. No local official wants a
"Jena" on their hands.
"The notion that what happens in small towns stays in small
towns no longer holds."
Second, it was huge and managed to galvanize a new generation of activists. One
of the noteworthy aspects of this demonstration - in contrast to many - is that
it appears to have been multi-generational. With nooses and jail time the
issues it raised linked the old Jim Crow and new quite effectively.
Third, it revealed a new network of bloggers and radio hosts (similar to the
immigrant rallies) that kept this issue alive when others would have allowed it
to die or could not keep it going.
Fourth, it was peaceful. Nothing would have been gained by violence in Jena.
The fact that none occurred left locals who had shuttered up the town, in fear
of black hordes arriving to ransack the place, with nothing to talk about but
the issues.
"The judicial system knows
the world is watching."
Now the hard part. The Jena Six remain either in jail or awaiting trial. The
demonstration did a great job of highlighting their plight. The judicial system
knows the world is watching. Now it is down to the lawyers to get them a fair
shake. That means a proportionate punishment for the alleged crime.
Over a year in advance, the Black Misleadership Class has kicked their efforts to corral Black people into the Democratic party, despite the Dems’ apathy toward Black politics or the concerns of…
The US empire is continuing its psychological warfare campaign by conducting a mass mobilization of resources and waging a propaganda offensive to protect its interests in the Middle East.
Despite the reality of US intervention causing inhumane conditions in the region, Venezuela’s push for the annexation of Guyana’s Essequibo region prioritizes its own political objectives,…
Survivors open up about struggles with lingering post-traumatic stress disorder 18 years after the storm
The high court in Nairobi will issue a ruling on a legal challenge to the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police forces to Haiti as part of a “multinational force.” The US and UN-backed mission has been…
