Wow. Talk about a driveway moment. NPR just broadcast a story about Jena, a small Louisianna town. Talk about a powerful story of evil, injustice and racism happening today. Wow. Go listen to it rather than reading my diary.
Djtyg has a diary on this and does a much better job than I could.
The basics of the story are this: black and white kids at the local high school had maintained their own voluntary segregation over the years during lunch period. Several of the white students hung nooses from a local tree after a newcomer to the school naively asked about changing this social segregation. The students were given in-school suspensions. In protest, several black kids had a peaceful protest over the light punishment for these students. The local DA then visited the school and in a public assembly threatened the students--pointedly emphasizing the black students--with legal action: "With one stroke of my pen, I can make your life disappear."
Things then went to hell in a handbag. Someone burned down the high school. A black student got in a scuffle with a white student at a convenience mart, who then went to his truck to get a shotgun. The black student wrestled him to the ground and took away the gun and walked home. He was charged with assault and theft of the shotgun!
Shortly thereafter, a black kid was beaten up at a party. A white kid at the school was jumped by several black kids and got beat up after boasting about the beating. Not good, but the kid's injuires were superficial and he went to a social function later that day. But th six black kids involved in the fight were charged with ATTEMPTED MURDER. One was just convicted and faces 22 years in prision.
As a local booster claims: ""Our town is not a bunch of bigots. They're Christian law abiding citizens that wouldn't mistreat anybody."
"You got to make it real, compared to what? I just don't get it." Les McCann, Swiss Movement 1969