Jena 6 gets Laney support

Students rally in quad, gather signatures

On Sept. 20, in solidary thousands of college students throught the country, the Laney Black Student Union held a rally in the quad to support the Jena Six. Over 20,000 people showed up in Jena for the National Day of Protest while a hundred students were in the Laney quad for the rally.

Students signed petitions and letters addressed to the Governor of Louisiana and the District Attorney in the Jena 6 Case.

The Laney BSU collected over a hundred signatures that were mailed out asking that all charges of attempted murder be dropped.

Last year, after three Black students sat under a ‘whites-only’ tree, a noose was hung from the tree. Nooses, for Black people, represent the nooses our ancestors were once hung from.

Soon after a number of white-on-black violence occured, including an incident in which a white man pulled a gun out on youth who liberated the gun, turned it in to police, and were charged with robbery.

The man who pulled out the weapon was not charged.

Finally, in retaliation for jumping a Black youth, a white young man was beat up in aschool yard fight. The six youth involved, called the Jena 6, were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy.

Following the Sept. 20 protests the youngest of the group was released; however, at press time, Mychal Bell is back in jail.

"We all live in Jena," according to Hip-Hop artist Mos Def who called for a walk-out on Oct. 1.

For more information on how to support the Jena 6 please visit Color of Change

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Back to Laney Defender's October 2007 issue.