The Jena 6: Right Problem, Wrong Protest
News: Am I the only black person sick of these kinds of rallies?
September 27, 2007
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Abner Louima, Rodney King, Amadou Diallo. Now the Jena 6, black people speaking truth to the power of undisguised racism, the good old proveable, Movement-y kind.
They came together as one as they like to do once a decade or so, then got back on their long haul buses and went home. No doubt, the kente cloth and waist-lengths 'locks were glorious to behold as they rode home in triumph. To dangerous neighborhoods, underperforming schools, and obese kinfolk praised for prefering prayer to prescription meds. Or, perhaps, to continue being an "only;" only black in the neighborhood, only black in management, only black in the Philosophy Department. The only black who's sick of one-shot wonder marches, rallies and protests? Sick of preformatted analyses which gloss over black quiescence or perfidy (OJ, anyone?) and unerringly conflate the forest with the trees?
Let's get this out of the way: what happened to the Jena 6 was heinous, non-blacks should be reexamining their hearts, and heads should be rolling Nifong-style. I'm as happy as the next Negro to stick it to the man (I'm on record as saying I'd have thrown a rock, just one and into a bush—more of a tossing if you will—after the Rodney King verdict had I been an Angeleno), but this wasn't exactly Selma and these brothers weren't exactly the Scottsboro Boys. Folks should go to jail for stomping a random (and lone) person into the ER, white or not, nooses or not. Not for attempted murder, of course not, but aggravated battery sounds about right, especially when you factor in that the stompee was not, as far as we know, one of the noose hangers. And when we have it on good authority that Jena High also boasts "black bleachers" where honkies fear not tread. Racism, and its effects on the ground, is rarely simple.
If you didn't know about the bleachers, you probably don't know this either: the names of the true inheritors of the Civil Rights Movement, the brave students who sat under the "white tree". Note that they first asked, and received, permission to do so. Something tells me that there would have been no march last week, no year of unrelenting "Afro-sphere" agitation, had the school refused them permission and no black took it on himself to kill whitey in revenge. Anti-black racists aren't the "only" ones who have a use for black oppression, the same oppression to which the black community continues to apply anachronistic, gotcha!, 60s-style tactics.
Sorry, but if Jena doesn't lead to a re-embrace of non-violence when confronting racism and inequality, it's not what Rev. Sharpton deemed the "beginning of the 21st-century civil rights movement;" it's vigilantism. If it doesn't lead to a sustained re-focus on non-symbolic tactics aimed not at white guilt but at black uplift, it'll have to be written off as mere masturbation: feels good but doesn't produce life. We dont need another movement, not if it's focused on the doings of outsiders. Instead, we need to hunker down for a community-wide soul searching of the Chinese re-education camp variety designed to help us figure out what our role in America's racial morass is and what our response to the continuing existence of systemic racism should be. I remember when the untalented Jackson sister LaToya made news for having multiple plastic surgeries to "improve her career." Arsenio Hall mused, "I'm thinking: why not singing lessons? I'm with Arsenio. Slate put it best: wrong poster children, sorry analysis of the problem.
I made no effort to get to Jena. Instead, I spent that time reading worthy analyses of the proveable, addressable, effects of racism in the criminal justice system. These bespectacled economists and sociologists are downright radical. They already knew that racism filled our prisons; now they're proving how it affects America at large. They're doing more good on Capitol Hill making these "tough on crime" politicians change gears than all the buses in Jena.
The 1960s Civil Rights Movement had to be about what whites were doing to us. Any modern movement needs to be focused inward, on what blacks are doing to themselves or what we're failing to pragmatically respond to.
If you want to stick it to the man, let's police our own neighborhoods. Let's snitch. A lot. Let's make our schools so good they're suing us to get in. Let's take care of ourselves and outlive the bastards. Let's stop using corporal punishment as our primary means of child discipline, limit their TV time and read to them every night. Any one of these will do more for us than a thousand Jenas.
Too bad they don't involve TV crews and tussling with white folks. Then it would be done with a quickness.
Debra Dickerson is a contributing writer and blogger for Mother Jones. She is the author of The End of Blackness and An American Story.
Comments:
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."[g]
48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?
Posted by:Matthew 12September 27, 2007 11:48:07 AMRespond ^
I hope that someone from the left side of society soon takes a dispassionate look at Jena. Both the Shreveport newspaper and Jason Whitlock, a columnist for ESPN, have reported that Bell was on probation during that entire school year for battery. Other news sources (not blogs) have hinted that his bail was denied because the judge revoked his probation.
Today, we hear rumblings that this battery involved beating his girlfriend so hard that her eye was dislocated from its socket.
True or false? If false, we can ignore it, however this item continues to crop up with no seeming original source. If this is true, however, I doubt that I have to paint too detailed a picture as to how this will affect any kind of movement in the near future.
How can Mychal Bell be the symbol of a movement if this star athlete beats women?
Posted by:dsfSeptember 27, 2007 12:26:37 PMRespond ^
No, you're not the only Black person who is sick of these kind of rallies. Uncle Ruckus hates them too.
Posted by:EgalitareSeptember 27, 2007 2:34:12 PMRespond ^
In the early 60's, I climbed a rung on the ladder of economic privilidge when my family moved from southeastern Kentucky to a New Mexico reservation. WOW! I was now at a school that had running water and central heating.
In spite of their comparative wealth, I felt sorry for my Indian brethren.
They were, in effect, wards of the state and, as such, were well taken care of by a kindly government. Their only cost--the complete destruction a culture.
Responsibility defines the roles we play in a society and once that is gone, families destruct and hopelessness fills the void. Fatherless children grow up knowing they lack something they cannot define. Frustrated, they fill the emptiness with some kind of drug and prison seems just as good a place as any to be.
Large portions of the Black community remind me of the reservations.
I know this is only one aspect of an extremely complex problem but it makes one wonder if further intrusion by the welfare state will solve this unfortunate relationship in which we are all trapped.
Great article Ms. Dickerson.
Posted by:RAGGEDSTEPSeptember 27, 2007 6:24:03 PMRespond ^
6 KICKING 1 IN THE HEAD TILL BLOOD RUNS OUT HIS EARS IS NOT KID STUFF. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WERE STOPPED AS THEY KEPT DOING IT. WE ARE TALKING BRAIN DAMAGE HERE. IF IT WERE SOME SKINS WOULD THAT MATTER
Posted by:DJ BROWNSeptember 27, 2007 11:55:52 PMRespond ^
First of all Mrs Dickenson i think like a lot of people in the media you only address part of the story. If you dont think we needed to go down there your as blind as your writing portrays. I would have more respect for people who would address the whole story! I truly believe that everyone to a person is holding this boys record against him which has nothing to do with this situation because it seems that the media wont talk about how the rest of the jena6 have clean records and it's still in question who of the jena 6 was really involved in the stomping. The only witness they have to this stomping is one of the people who hung the noose! Now thats giving credibility a new twist! Ms Dickerson why dont you focus on the whole truth like none of those boys should go to jail and the charges should be dropped, im tired of people talking about how this white boy was a victim when Robert Bailey was beat up by a group of whites with a bottle broke over his head, he gave a positive i.d. of the culprits and they denied him his right to file charges and nothing happened not a word. A white boy pulled a gun on the black kids the black kids took the gun away from the white boy and didnt use it, unloaded the shells and took the gun home and they were charged with theft! Then the nooses were hung and one of the eyewitnesses is one of the boys who hung the noose!....Cut me a break...please tell the whole story and im sorry your nose and eyes are too far up in the clouds to see the injustice that went on and that we needed a march. All in all it's ok even King had black detractors so it's ok and it is what it is.
Posted by:ReubenSeptember 28, 2007 5:18:01 AMRespond ^
What a brilliant article. Ms. Dickerson is a truly prolific writer. Thank you for a most insightful commentary on the Jena 6 protests. I look so forward to the day when people wake up to the reality that there is only one race - the human race. We are all created in the image of God. Thank you for your fresh perspective. I'm going to search for more of your articles. Thanks again.
Posted by:William BryantSeptember 28, 2007 5:54:15 AMRespond ^
Is this white racism or is our community killing itself?
http://www.chicoer.com/ci_6935988?source=most_emailed
Posted by:MJESeptember 28, 2007 7:41:14 AMRespond ^
The Jena Six were the six people who organized the sit in.
Listen to Jordan Flaherty of Counterpunch on this Democracy Now! clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwcj3RQcyu0
Posted by:donna darkoSeptember 28, 2007 9:20:45 AMRespond ^
According to some accounts, the Jena Six were picked randomly from a list of gym class rowdies.
It's not a coincidence that those who dared protest under the tree were those named for the school fight. Not only that, some accounts say three of the Jena Six were only bystanders.
Posted by:donna darkoSeptember 28, 2007 9:23:41 AMRespond ^
I must say that you need to sit back and have a reality check. As a person that grew up in Jena, LA. I must say that yes the good old boy practice does still exist in this small town. I will say that I know first hand how the justice system works in Jena for blacks and white.
In the late 70's early 80's 3 white males basically received a slap on the write for 1st degree pre-matated murder of my cousin. 1 of the white males got off completly and the other only received 2 years in prison in which they were in protected custody. 2 years for 1st degree pre-matated murder of a black male. Are you serious????
If it was someone in your family I am sure that you would want someone to respond as well.
There is still injustice in the law system all over the U.S., however it is time for Black and other minorities to stand togeter and say NO MORE.
I am still upset because D A Reed Walters is still addressing the issue of the nooses hung at a high school.
Posted by:Ms. SmithSeptember 28, 2007 9:51:05 AMRespond ^
Ms. Thank you,
You are right on the money.
Posted by:Fred W. AmosSeptember 28, 2007 10:02:40 AMRespond ^
Here are your heroes:
Democracy Now! (at 2:20 mark): In a spontaneous act of daring and brave resistance, nearly every student in the school went and stood under the tree AND IT'S BEEN WIDELY SAID THAT THE FOLKS THAT ORGANIZED THAT PROTEST TO SIT UNDER THE TREE ARE THE SO-CALLED JENA SIX the six students who are now facing life in prison for a schoolyard fight.
How is this different than Moveon.org protesting Gen. Petraeus? Except Moveon hasn't won national and international praise for its protest yet.
Posted by:donna darkoSeptember 28, 2007 10:16:06 AMRespond ^
Democracy Now! video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwcj3RQcyu0
Posted by:donna darkoSeptember 28, 2007 10:17:03 AMRespond ^
Whether you are hanging a noose or stomping in a head, you are operating from the lower level of conscious thoughts from where hate, war, and all forms of violence and injustice originates. People of all color, need to raise the level of conscious thought in this country and focus on love, peace, harmony, justice and working for the common good. It is only through our own efforts will we accomplish this as a society, because it works to the advantage of some to keep classes stuck in cycles of negativity. Marches for or against lower level actions, are non-productive. We possess the power within each of us to improve our world, unfortunately, many people fail to recognize that fact.
Posted by:Sharon AshSeptember 28, 2007 10:43:46 AMRespond ^
With people like you we will never have a resolution of this kind of hatered. I pray you are never in the need of YOUR people to rally behind you for some kind of injustice. I will keep praying for YOU and rightousness. Please remember this, God is watching it all.
Posted by:jena6September 28, 2007 12:16:04 PMRespond ^
It is way to soon to tell where this will lead. This case in not over and those who spent time, money and effort to go to Jena and or advocate for FAIR AND EQUAL JUSTICE need to be appaulded and appreciated. Where were you Ms Dickerson...getting your hair and nails done.
Posted by:streetcatSeptember 28, 2007 12:18:52 PMRespond ^
Nice post Ms. Dickerson, I personally believe these events should have never taken place and it should have been nipped in the bud right after the nooses were hung. Where in any of the problems do you hear about the parents of the boys stepping in? Parents, watch your children!
Posted by:Ms. SharSeptember 28, 2007 12:28:57 PMRespond ^
Ms. Dickerson,
I completely agree with your assertion that we, as black people, need to focus inwardly. I believe that cases events and circumstances such as the Jena 6 should mobilize us to take a stand, not against "the man" but for ourselves.
Yes, racism still exists. This is a prime example of it. However, I think this should be a wake up call to all of us who believe that racism does died in the 60's. This should be a wake up call of blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians, everyone.
Posted by:GM ClarkSeptember 28, 2007 12:34:07 PMRespond ^
Further, you and Jason Whitlock who appears to lack the nutts and balls oops I mean bolts to think clearly about the historical occurances that created Jim Crow and criminal justice for Blacks metered out at the end of a noose need to examine yourselves and not JUDGE others. Have you ever heard of the Biblical parable of the log and spec in the eye. This was a PEACEFUL MARCH. SOME OF EVERYBODY WAS THERE. BLACK, WHITES, HISPANICS, ARABS, JEWISH FOLKS. How dare you insult the coming together of the AMERICAN PEOPLE! I personally believe there will more of these demonstrations in the not to distant future so if you have any doubts of the resolve of those of us who are willing to do what is necessary for FAIR AND EQUAL justice to be the NORM AND NOT THE EXCEPTION in the United States of America...THINK AGAIN. You are just jealous because YOU MS DICKERSON lack the COURAGE AND KNOWLEDGE TO STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT.
Posted by:streetcatSeptember 28, 2007 12:43:51 PMRespond ^
Ms Dickerson,
I agree with all the actions you suggest we need to take at the end of your post.My question to you is while we are doing these things what do you suggest we do when the injustice taking pace is of such a racist nature that it makes one feel sick,mad and scared at the same time? What should we do?
Thank you,
Eric Oriol
Posted by:eric oriolSeptember 28, 2007 1:09:28 PMRespond ^
What about Jena's D.A. saying, after the black kids had organized a protest of the tree, and the noose incident, that he could "make them disappear with a stroke of a pen". What about the fact that the focus of the protest is not that these kids did nothing wrong, but that there were white kids who did wrong things, too, and were let off with a slap on the wrist, and the whole white leadership of the town seems to be completely against blacks, and that they WERE going to shut the doors on these kids for LIFE for "attempted murder" if NO ONE HAD PROTESTED. I'm very disappointed in Mother Jones for publishing this as "NEWS". It is an "EDITORIAL" and a very uninsightful one, at that.
Like "donnie darko" mentioned, watch/listen to DEMOCRACY NOW if you want the real news about the Jena 6, which no one in the mainstream media is reporting. Mother Jones is slipping.
Posted by:emily bSeptember 28, 2007 1:18:47 PMRespond ^
Mr Bryant,
Such good grammar coming from the mind of an idiot......You wish for the day when we only see one race,,,the human race....Wel brother,keep on dreaming but,when you eake up the nightmare will still exist.I doubt very much that the Black man started hating others because of the color of their skin.The white man who is a descendant of the black man has used skin color to validate and promote his criminal activities throughout history.Either you are a blind person or an idiot who is making a living carrying the white man's water........Either way,you shall pay for your sins one day....
Posted by:eric oriolSeptember 28, 2007 1:21:30 PMRespond ^
Ms Dickerson,
I agree with all the actions you suggest we need to take at the end of your post.My question to you is while we are doing these things what do you suggest we do when the injustice taking pace is of such a racist nature that it makes one feel sick,mad and scared at the same time? What should we do?
Thank you,
Eric Oriol
Posted by:christianslayer1955lSeptember 28, 2007 1:23:47 PMRespond ^
I couldn't agree more with Ms Dickerson. The charges truely didn't fit the crime and something needed to be done to correct it - but having Mr. Sharpton come in and play his race card is not going to do it for me.
Where is the organization of all to overcome racism on a daily basis? People need to quit crying "Poor me" because of their economic conditions and skin color - people need to be accountable for their own actions and quit playing the race card - get off the couch, turn the TV off and do something a little more constructive in your own neighborhoods whether you are brown, black, white, green, red, purple or blue it matters not at all. Do something worth while to help yourself, family and neighbors. I'm sick of hearing about these kind of rallies; They are the topic of current events/conversation until the next big story breaks.
Posted by:KristineSeptember 28, 2007 1:45:51 PMRespond ^
I live in Louisiana, a couple of hours from Jena. You make some excellent points in your article. I agree that the whole thing was handled incorrectly and the DA is a dunce. The boys who did the beating aren't angels and should be prosecuted but not have their lives ruined any more than their parents have already done by not enforcing rules for living upon them. Thanks for the piece.
Posted by:markSeptember 28, 2007 2:01:00 PMRespond ^
I am still waiting for your point. The last thing we need are more poster children to make an already known fact. Outrage never waits for the perfect opportunity for it to be appropriate. Mass outrage may be compared to a volcano in that its not the eruption which breaks the surface that's the most powerful, rather, its the culmination of many large and smaller eruptions. Black men are supporting a privatized prison industry at rates which shames any concept of a civilized nation while engaging in respectful, dishonest intellectual debates - ironically, both sides argue known facts. The loss of freedoms -personal and social- are serious matters and the judicial system and white politicans ignore and remain beyond polite letter writing protests because simply... you do not matter. Unfortunately, while minimizing such marches, the results are unmistakable. Much like sunshine on mold or roaches when the lights are turned on, change happens. The point does not lie in a set of specific facts. The point underlies a system that does not waste an opportunity to inflict exaggerated punishment while conversely diminishing merit of the selected group. After writing a few thousand words lamenting the known ills, give jack his due, the results were a smashing success. It shone a bright light on a shameful situation that is all too common and unfortunately has become way too acceptable especially by us. Today it is him.. tomorrow it may be you. Who will stand and speak for you while you quietly rot in a cell that produces a positive cash flow to its owners. While you read worthy analyses, we have yet to see any kind of crime bill (democrat or republican) that attempts to reverse the damage which we are all so well aware. The march brought critical mass focus in a way the politicians and their old school foes understand too well. Its about votes and money and of course maintaining the hypocritical high ground upon which most of our societal values rests.
Posted by:Randy WhiteSeptember 28, 2007 2:01:06 PMRespond ^
Since Mother Jones is doing such a poor job of covering this, I thought some readers might be interested in this link from Democracy Now:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/27/1436209
Posted by:emily bSeptember 28, 2007 2:52:51 PMRespond ^
The lady has it right, especially the comments about the schools (any underperforming school). In my opinion it is underperforming parents that need help in motivating and disciplining their children ( not the teachers). Concerning the race issue, violence will
bring retaliation not justice or respect!
Posted by:Fred SwitzmanSeptember 28, 2007 3:14:35 PMRespond ^
THAT was a refreshing point of view!!!
Posted by:steppenRazorSeptember 28, 2007 4:54:58 PMRespond ^
Now that these righteous people have gone home in defeat, what are they doing? Are they continuing "the fight"? Seriously folks, a gesture is a gesture.
Posted by:jeevesSeptember 28, 2007 5:29:21 PMRespond ^
Your Ms Dickerson sounds like someone with a great desire to be liked by white people. Has she straightened her brain with her hair? I noticed that she didn't address the beating of Robert Bailey. Then again, I suppose that she felt that he got what he deserved! She is a disgrace to "Mother Jones"
My grandson reported a crime in the area where he lived. The police gave his name to the press. His whole family had to move out of state. In Los Angeles, a woman reported a crime in her neighborhood. After she testified in court, the police released her name. She was dead within a week. She was my neighbor.
From a fat black woman who prays and is not against kente cloth or a wannabe white woman named Dickerson.
Posted by:Ms LivingstonSeptember 28, 2007 6:31:27 PMRespond ^
Debra Dickerson should have been speaking to the marchers in Jena, instead of Jackson and Sharpton. Debra's intelligent, far sighted logic points the way toward the betterment of justice and a more positive solidification of bridging humanity.
Posted by:George HughesSeptember 28, 2007 7:10:36 PMRespond ^
I see Mother Jones is mainstream media now. The mainstream media that takes whites' perspectives as gospel truth and ignores women's, minorities', gays', lesbians', disabled perspectives.
So is it any wonder the day after the daring, brave protest in which nearly every student in the school stood under the tree, in which young white and black people stood together in peace and harmony to protest older Jena residents' view of race relations, the school board and DA Reed Walters held a spontaneous school assembly to condemn this act of peaceful harmony and resistance?
The assembly where DA Reed Walters said he could sign away these students' lives with a stroke of a pen and tried to do just that?
2 + 2, people.
Think, Mother Jones.
Think, mainstream media.
Posted by:donna darkoSeptember 28, 2007 7:16:30 PMRespond ^
The Scotsboro Boys were no angels. Neither was Rodney King, Malcolm X and Fred Hampton. Unfortunately, the lynchers and racist prosecutors don't always crucify a Jesus Christ. Your lack of compassion for black folk living under Louisiana apartheid is puzzling. Your abundance of it for the racists is disturbing. Your debasing of the Jena 6 bus riders is disgusting.
Posted by:BernardSeptember 28, 2007 7:46:24 PMRespond ^
I suppose we should expect this kind of insight from someone who questioned if Barack Obama was "black enough", and who apparently thinks Al Sharpton is "too black". Here's what I infer from Ms. Dickerson's writing: we cannot have mass actions unless the victims pass the "test", that is to say she would have been holding a sign in Jena if the six had all been honor students who had no previous brushes with the law, and had been beaten within an inch of their own lives before catching a second wind and turning the tables on a mob at least twice their number and still charged as these CHILDREN were. That's the messy part of this, right? These were children involved -- on both sides, young people who haven't had enough experience and wisdom to step back from a taunt or a veiled threat, even in the context of a constant simmer of agitation and restlessness. Let's just hope that the next incident will involve young people of unimpeachable backgrounds and character so that Ms. Dickerson will find them worthy of equal protection under the law.
Posted by:EgalitareSeptember 28, 2007 7:48:59 PMRespond ^
In the 1860's, unscrupulous people aka carpetbaggers, pretending to help, took advantage of the situation. These carpetbaggers generated a lot of hate and discontent which made the carpetbaggers more powerful. What they also created was an equally opposite bad force, the KKK. Martin Luther King did a lot of work to get people to see that, really, we are all the same. But he's gone and now what we have are new carpetbaggers.
Posted by:RaulSeptember 29, 2007 6:52:35 AMRespond ^
Until the American Black population puts more strength and practice in what Bill Cosby says it should do to get out of the rut it has relished for decades and lean less on the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton it will never ascend to its rightful and talented place in American society.
Posted by:Jim GuinnesseySeptember 29, 2007 7:45:28 AMRespond ^
Somebody said "Injustice to one - is injustice to all."
I don't know how you can have a "wrong protest" for a "right problem."
I'm still amazed, and appalled that Debra Dickerson and others know of the "prior charges and convictions" of Mychal Bell. At his first bail hearing, when the Appeals Court of Louisiana found he was wrongly charged as an adult, and threw the case back to juvenile court -- even his mother was prohibited from commenting on the court proceedings --- because Mychal Bell once again had become a "juvenile."
Would someone enlighten us all as to who told you, and other members of the media about prior charges and convictions of a minor? Most states seal those records.
I would be most interested in seeing a transcript of the trial proceedings, where he was convicted and sentenced on this charge. This charge, this conviction, and this trial, are what put another young black man, in an adult prison in Louisiana for over ten months.
Maybe the credentials of the next blacks, or Latinos, or whites, who are victims of injustice, within the U.S. justice system, will meet whatever criteria you have mentally established, so that other people may protest. However, somehow I doubt that any injustice would. You didn't go to Jena Ms. Dickerson. Did you have time for New Orleans? Somehow I doubt that also.
Posted by:erwSeptember 29, 2007 9:04:07 AMRespond ^
Jesus,
Calm the [deleted] down, and get a grip. My read on the article is that the march is a failure only if the marchers let it be a failure. It sounded like a challenge. Yes, really bad [deleted] goes down in the poor black neighborhoods. People snitch and get killed because police rat them out. Sounds like there should be a march for that too. You, the protesters and marchers, have got the ball rolling again. Now use it. Sure by all means shine the light on our corrupt society. Show us the gross injustice. Shame us into change. But, do it to yourself too. Last time I checked everyone is human, no one is perfect, and we all have a lot of work to do.
Posted by:sliznapSeptember 29, 2007 2:42:44 PMRespond ^
Thanks for a good take on a hard subject. I listened to Star Jones the other day. She focused on a woman's choice to become pregnant and have a child during a bit about Marry Your Baby Daddy Day. She persisted on the idea of a personal choice--nicely enough--despite her guest's focus on her "situation." I was pleased with Star.
Fathers and mothers raising kids, parents realizing that they have a right to complain about and demand change in the terrible schools most inner city Black children attend, making sure students are at school on time and awake EVERY DAY, and teaching children to try to discuss differences rather than hit back--all are excellent ways that Black parents must--Gee, as I read this over, it sounds much like what my White kids have to do raising their children--to help their children become masters of the SAT culture.
As a White parent who struggles every day with all of the bad parenting she did, I say thanks for being real. Black life in America is diminished when one thinks that Black life exists only as a result of White actions or inactions... Thanks again. BettyG
Posted by:Elizabeth GrovenSeptember 29, 2007 2:53:26 PMRespond ^
You say the economists and sociologists are going to influence the politicians to do the right thing concerning the racial injustices in our judicial system. Maybe so, but without a "spark" to actually wake them up, I doubt it. The Reverend's Sharpton and Jackson deserve credit in my opinion for helping to bring this case to light.
Posted by:marty z.September 29, 2007 3:07:07 PMRespond ^
Please google "Jena 6 wikipedia" (on the web) and read the details of what went on here and tell me why whites should apologize. The Jena 6 were star football players who ran together off the field as well. From what I've read they sound like bullying, intimidating jocks - of the Columbine kind. I will change my political party and vote for School Vouchers!
Posted by:nanaSeptember 29, 2007 5:24:10 PMRespond ^
Debra...thanks for the insightful thoughts...Dr. Bill Cosby said it best..."Don't blame the white folks. We are doing it to ourselves."
Posted by:Joey GeeSeptember 29, 2007 6:28:01 PMRespond ^
Ms. dickerson, thank you! White liberals often feel guilt about being racist, so thank goodness we have our token black person to come along and tell them that it's okay, that black people make whites hate them and discrimination is inevitable. As raul points out, the KKK arose because black people got all uppity about "we're human, don't enslave us, give us our rights." Stop being outside agitators, y'all. Being nice will avoid a lot of problems, and remember, if there is a miscarriage of justice, just relax. Getting all upset is what causes these problems, and anyway you brought it on yourself--what did you do to make someone want to oppress you?
Posted by:CampariSeptember 29, 2007 9:20:42 PMRespond ^
While visiting the USA I asked the hotel staff where the nearest church was, so we could walk to church. We were told of the church but were told not to go there as we would not be welcome and might not make it back to the hotel. When we asked why we were told it was an African American church. I was surprised and bewildered.
In my church in Australia, we have a Tongan minister and have active Indian and Kouri [Australian Aborigines] members.
Needless to say, we did not go to church. And we were disappointed.
Posted by:Gordon OsmondSeptember 30, 2007 12:37:15 AMRespond ^
Again,
Calm the [deleted] down. The author isn't empowering liberal whites to feel good about being racist. She ackowledged that rascism is alive and well in the heart of this country, and that the best way to fight it, in her opinion, is for the black community to focus their considerable talent and energy on addressing crippling internal problems. I know my mom told me that I couldn't fix anyone but myself. That's the point.
Posted by:sliznapSeptember 30, 2007 7:49:19 AMRespond ^
I am in total agreement with you. I made my comment before reading the entire article. The title says, it all. It is time for us to move beyond this re-actionism and grand-standing. Our communities need constructive and lasting postive outcomes. Which require real plans and labor, not protest pep-rallies.
Posted by:MuataSeptember 30, 2007 8:19:08 AMRespond ^
WOW!!! I couldn't have said it better myself. Time for us to take some responsibility and not wait for another to take care of ourselves!
Posted by:NoireSeptember 30, 2007 9:08:31 AMRespond ^
"My grandson reported a crime in the area where he lived. The police gave his name to the press. His whole family had to move out of state. In Los Angeles, a woman reported a crime in her neighborhood. After she testified in court, the police released her name. She was dead within a week. She was my neighbor."
Shouldn't the solution to this be even *more* widespread reporting of crimes, coupled with better confidentiality policies? Refusing to notify the police just gives more power to the people who would exact retribution for snitching.
Not being black, I can't speak to these issues with any sort of personal experience. But it doesn't seem like there's a contradiction between solving problems internally within the black community and agititing for broader society to fix external issues like bias within the legal system.
Posted by:BenSeptember 30, 2007 11:45:00 AMRespond ^
There isn't a contridiction. Both need to be focused on. But, it seems the author feels there are more resources going to one aspect, the external, and not the other, the internal. So the result is that one has become more akin to political grandstanding, while the other hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Not that people aren't trying. I heard that the people of North Philly are trying to start a new program where they want to put 10,000 men on the streets. Concerned citizens, preferably black, but everyone is welcome, who want to make a difference. Go get 'em!
Posted by:sliznapSeptember 30, 2007 1:16:10 PMRespond ^
Great job, Reuben!
Ms. Dickerson is confused, and has tunnel vision, regarding the Jena6 and the protest rally that followed in Jena. The events that lead up to the protest march...such as the "Whites only tree," the hanging of the nooses, the disarming of a White youth who pulled a shotgun on African American youths-just to have the Black youths arrested-for the "theft" of this White male's shotgun-are more than worth of disgust. The refusal of Jena's school system to hold the White students accountable for their harassing and seriously menacing behaviors-and Jena's twisted and racially corrupt legal system, made such a march necessary! African Americans had the choice to passively sit back and complain about the events occurring in Jena-or they had the American right to go to Jena and be part of the Protest March. It was great to see 20,000 African American people standing up for justice!
Posted by:Tina615September 30, 2007 3:14:32 PMRespond ^
It was a protest against the unequal justice system. A mob of white students attacked a black student and received one misdemeanor. A white man pulled a shotgun on three black students and the black students were charged with theft of a weapon. Jena Six is not only about freeing these children, it highlights the unequal criminal justice system which is the forefront of the modern civil rights movement. Instead of lynching black men and women now, the criminal justice system disproportionately puts black men and women behind bars. Immigration is the forefront of the Latino American movement, the criminal injustice system is the forefront of the Civil Rights movement. Make sense? It should. People around the world see this protest for what it is but Americans cannot see it. There's a reason Le Monde seized on this story early on calling it L'arbre de colore (The tree of anger). http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3222,36-936368,0.html
The rest of the world can see the poetry in the story but Americans cannot.
Posted by:donna darkoSeptember 30, 2007 3:51:51 PMRespond ^
You are so CORRECT!
In my opinion Oprah is "a day late and a dollar short"!!!
I saw Sicko MONTHS ago and it is NO LONGER PLAYING ANYWHERE in the Delaware Valley(Philadelphia/South Jersey)!!!!
Where was she when the movie opened ???
Last night I saw "Berkely in the 60's" and I'm reading "Bury The Chains", and can only conclude that one can speak truth to power, but POWER can infiltrate movements and buy out the ideas and undermine, dilute, turn around, noble ideas until a new method is used to force power to listen to the people. In the 60's even those putting their lives and bodies on the line were not aware of how successful their actions would be, in so short a time. It took 50 years for the British "abolitionists" to successfully abolish slavery in the 18th century, decades before our "Civil War", using previously untried methods.
It's obvious that Power has succeeded in side-tracking Americans, providing drugs, guns, re-segregation, and eroding free, affordable education, denying health care to all, etc. because the attempt to make "eubonics" an intellectually discussion among college students didn't work- so what's next? degrade everyone, keep education out of reach, and make self-segregation desirable. And here we are!
Nonetheless, I am not an Oprah watcher because I am old, not a beyutiful welldressed middleclass with lots of leisure time and make-up etc. but can appreciate how dangerous it is for her to make a political statement even though she may not be aware that she has!!!!
Posted by:DoloresOctober 1, 2007 8:14:01 AMRespond ^
I am a white college student and I too am so angered with the rallies, but as I go to a small liberal college in Mass, Williams College, there are posters everywhere and flyers floating around telling us to rally and fight the injustice and racism. I totally agree with everything you said, and I've always said that now black people need to focus on themselves and their community, because 99% of the time, it's not the white man keeping them down, but themselves and some odd need to feel victimized and live off the government. Thank you for voicing the opinion of the educated!
Posted by:Andrea LudtkeOctober 1, 2007 12:50:35 PMRespond ^
IMO,
Ms. Dickerson: I'm a white male, solidly progressive, who knew almost nothing about the Jena incident until I heard about the rallies. Now myself, and at least 20 of my friends, know much more about the entire chain of events- from whites-only tree to 'shotgun theft' to tennis shoe beating- than you apparently do, and feel called to action (on the local level) ourselves. That's the primary purpose of such rallies, no? And if this happened to me and my friends, than it probably happened elsewhere, right?
In my experience, Ms. Dickerson, some blacks actually LIKE being the "only". Could that be the case with yourself? Does it anger you that the media shines a spotlight on your less fortunate brothers and sisters, embarrassing you with the bad elements of black society? The emotional tenor of your argument suggests you may be reacting to institutionalized self-loathing, the kind which makes middle class blacks turn their backs on poor kids and blame them for their lack of social progress (while their soulmates, ignorant whites, do the same).
Your borrow from Slate the idea that the Jena 6 are the wrong bunch to rally around. But for progressives like myself, this incident isn't about them, or their character. It's about a justic system that still allows the Reed Walters of the world to publicly spew racist rhetoric, and to subvert the law into a vehicle for racial retribution, without challenge or consequence. It's about a media that employs different levels of news coverage, depending on the color of the victims and/or perpetrators. And it's about racist cesspools like Jena, which still keep blacks in their place by any means necessary- and god help the uppity black that bucks the system.
How arrogant and shameful to equate your stay-at-home, self-indulgent blogging on the subject with the personal and financial risks taken by those who traveled long distances, into extremely hostile territory, to make a public statement. Your claim that economists and politicians are "...doing more good on Capitol Hill making these "tough on crime" politicians change gears than all the buses in Jena" is laughable, and not substantiated by evidence. The Civil Rights movement slid off the front page at the end of the '60's, after a short decade of intense public rallying, and I propose that all your in-system think tankers and idea-shifters haven't made more than a mouse-fart's worth of positive progress since.
You may feel you speak for a lot of blacks, but then again, so do Bill Cosby and Alan Keyes. None of you, I'll wager, have recently been within spitting distance of a cracker haven like Jena, and are in no position to judge anyone involved in this situation.
PunkyAmerica.
Posted by:PunkyAmericaOctober 2, 2007 7:28:20 AMRespond ^
Andrea, the ignorance of your comments shames Williams, and Massachusetts. 99% of all trouble experienced by black people is their own doing? You sound just like the stupid, priviledged white girl you are. You have no clue, and should try a few African-American studies while you're pissing mommy and daddy's money away.
Posted by:PunkyAmericaOctober 2, 2007 9:05:50 AMRespond ^
Thank you for your most insightful, helpful and benign comment. As I carry my water around today - I will reflect more deeply on the profound strength of your argument. Thanks!
Posted by:Mr. OriolOctober 2, 2007 1:47:23 PMRespond ^
Actually, the post dated October 2, 2007 by Mr. Oriol was mine. I accidentally put his name where mine should have gone. Sorry to Mr. Oriol. Hope you have an awesome week.
Posted by:William BryantOctober 2, 2007 2:00:19 PMRespond ^
I totally agree with what Ms. Dickerson said.
Posted by:KimOctober 3, 2007 8:24:20 AMRespond ^
Pompous!
Posted by:Billie TylerOctober 3, 2007 1:59:53 PMRespond ^
Thanks PunkyAmerica for your post, especially coming immediately after that of "educated" racist Andrea Ludtke. What a waste of skin. As to Ms. Dickerson, the "field negroes" who protested and were beaten, whipped or killed by their masters, always knew who the "house negroes" were. Enjoy your paycheck Debbie. Shame on you MotherJones.
Posted by:art godinezOctober 3, 2007 4:20:00 PMRespond ^
First, I'd say that no juveniles should be tried as adults, period.
Secondly, violence is never a solution to anything, sure, but that's not what we push down our kids' throats, is it - culturally, I mean, although we may mouth the words of peace and respect for ethnic diversity ? It should be apparent that communities are not willing enough, to admit their deep divisions or to adhere for the benefit of ALL kids, to change the nasty old status quo; we had better wake up, black, white, red, yellow, brown.
Thirdly, I wish I could get the op. writer on a panel, here in Guilford County, NC; but, here, heads are stuck so far down in the sand, only a storm will raise them, maybe. And, that's where the writer is right, too: there are larger issues that need to be spoken out loud and addressed across-the-board, before "real change" can occur. People are too busy, sitting on their own prejudices - both black and white, otherwise and in-between - to look at the big picture of our youth in America, and at the poor light in which even attentive parents are cast (except, perhaps, for the rich ones), when it comes to public school policy and procedure. Also apparent: the label "poor" does not apply only to black kids; yep, we have to cross the color line, people, and understand that what we have, here, in America, are class war divisions; I would even say that tensions are maintained by the powers-that-be, because they don't want us poor folk getting together to change a thing. Having just read the current report from Children's Defense Fund, I wonder where the issue of gender bias has gone: have we forgotten the vital importance of that issue, too ? Daycare quality, availability and affordability are still at issue, as is our society's fear and loathing of poor, single-parent households, hand-to-mouth families, headed by women. Public school systems tend to throw money at rhetoric and spot-checks, instead of pro-active educational reform that meets the needs of twenty-first century realities.
Come together, see the mutual interests, resolve to change the sorry state of affairs. Who wants to start a caucus of inclusion, leaving exclusion behind ?! Let me know.
Posted by:LizOctober 7, 2007 5:58:00 AMRespond ^
Beautifuly written, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you for your honesty.
Posted by:Teacher in FlOctober 8, 2007 9:02:56 AMRespond ^
With all due respect, I think your're missing the point regarding why people are outraged. Minorities are not treated fairly by the criminal "justice" system. No one is denying that the perpetrators of the assault on the white student should be punished. But charging them with attempted murder is ridiculous and unjust. These charges are designed to send a message to the black community which says, "you better stay in your place." If these kids were charged with assault and battery (which is what they committed) no one would be up in arms. They would face jail time, which, given the circumstances, probably would be appropriate.
Charging them with attempted murder, however, is a whole different ball game. Now they face the potential of life, or at best, decades in prison. No rational person could argue that such a sentence is an appropriate punishment for their crimes. Given the charging District Attorney's racist comments and complete disregard for the discrimination (and intimidation) faced by the local black community, it is no wonder that blacks (and progressives everywhere) are up in arms about this miscarriage of justice.
For justice to be done, the punishment should fit the crime. When it doesn't, injustice results. When that injustice is perpetrated by a racist DA and a racist system with a history of treating blacks unfairly, people rebel.
In response to your question, I doubt you are the only black person tired of these kinds of rallies. I am sure Clarance Thomas, Ward Connerly, and their ilk are equally offended by them.
Jerry Singleton
Civil Rights/ Criminal Defense Lawyer
San Diego, California
Posted by:Jerry SingletonOctober 8, 2007 2:25:17 PMRespond ^
I am supposed to do a midterm paper on this topic, and I want to do it from the stand point of"In Spite of It All".
In spite of it all we as a people have everlasting endurance, and are a mighty people who have made some serious, dasterly decisions along the way that have hurt us but, we can recover and will recover when we get back to the basics and stop the drug abuse, demeaning TV shows and videos, and abusing our beautiful brown babies. We have lost the basics of learning to use our words of respect and friendship.
Posted by:DaphneOctober 8, 2007 4:56:27 PMRespond ^
I am all for inclusion but it is obvious that exclusion isn't working.
Posted by:DaphneOctober 8, 2007 4:59:34 PMRespond ^
A very ridiculous statement. Until black america encompasses a combination of bill cosby , jesse, al and others then we will see a change. People like you dont like al and jesse because they dont let people slide or get away with anything and they speak out because if your silent your permitting the horrible plight of racism! I hope they continue to speak out to counter bogus arguments like yours! The only problem i have with cosby was not the speeches he makes but the numbers he quotes which have been debunked. He should stick to coming from his heart as far as what he thinks blacks need to do rather than quoting eroneous numbers.
Posted by:ReubenOctober 10, 2007 5:50:35 AMRespond ^
I think that is so wrong and we black folk need to stnd up and protest for our race
Posted by:DiamondOctober 10, 2007 7:58:35 AMRespond ^
A well-expressed opinion that isn't tainted with bias. Ms. Dickerson is an AMERICAN first. We should demand the same expectations of all citizens, and no "pass" for being black or anything else. Don't charge racism when it suits your agenda, while conveniently ignoring your own trespasses.
Posted by:rgrOctober 15, 2007 12:27:12 PMRespond ^
Diamond- look at your "race" and see what you can do to fix the impression the rest of the world gets from it. Stereotypes don't evolve from nothing.
Posted by:RogerOctober 15, 2007 12:31:08 PMRespond ^
ms. dickerson i have been looking for you since you left salon! i adore your writing and share many of your views. and no, you are certainly not the only black person who is sick of these rallies. certainly, the hanging of the noose was no small matter, but we can't be ignorant about things and resort to violence when we are taunted. keep up the good work!
Posted by:siamOctober 16, 2007 3:14:13 AMRespond ^
A song about Jena by AWAKE...www.weareawake.us/jena.html
Posted by:MarkNovember 25, 2007 3:53:06 AMRespond ^
I think you are correct. In Detroit, Mi for example it is a Black Mayor and his cabanet that is distroying local Non Profit organizations that have educated and advanced Detroit Natives (code word for Blacks) for over fifteen years, Their mistake? Not being liked by Black City Officals who have personal axe's tp grind. Where is the protest ? Becuase of this one person's vendetta hundereds of portntial small business owners will have to go it alone- pull themselves up by their own boot straps. If this had been done by a White administration it would be deemed racist. However, this dispicable deed goes un noticed and un-punshed. The people (voters in Detroit) are Hynotised by the Mayor's Blackness or perception of Blackness. When in reality his Blackness is really Selfishness.
Posted by:Lawrence F. JacksonJanuary 10, 2008 6:50:16 AMRespond ^
come on people if it was white kids beating up blacks oh goodness the world had came to a end .....and if white walked up the street like blacks we would have been arrested and black kids get lesser charge whites would had beaten up blacks they would have gotten life this world is just for them we are losing our rights
Posted by:lynnJanuary 23, 2008 10:43:50 AMRespond ^
Well, I'm a 35 year old black female who was born and raised in Louisiana. I witnessed daily the injustice of the so called,"American Justice System", justice for who.I always felt it was more like satisfaction for the white man, than justice for anyone else. The American Justice System just means one less black that has the chance to a productive life. What happened in Jena just proves that equal rights, justice and equality is limited for blacks. We only have equal rights when it's benefical to the white man. I feel that a crime was committed not only by the 6 boys that make up the Jena 6, but by the public officials of the school, the Mayor, the Governor, the District Attorney and any so called law abiding officials. Again the problem is not being punished for a crime but the harsh and irrational sentence a black man will get for a crime as opposed to a white man. If a black man kills another black man he gets a fair trial by a jury of his peers, a Public Defender that will fight for him and present the best case possiable with no concern of guilt or innocence. However, if a black man kill a white man, look out world he's going down. The trail will start by a faulty jury selection, the District Attorney,Judges and in some cases the Defense Attorney will make it their duty to convict with little or no interest in his innocence. Seems like the only advantange for the black man is your innocence doesn't matter one way or the other.
Posted by:TONYIAFebruary 9, 2008 11:42:30 AMRespond ^
as a black student at a school where there are very few i take my hat off to the people whohelped in this case i mean my school is going through some major racist problems right now and the school has done nothing to help us no matter how much they say they are it is policy that the boy get suspened and yet they have done nothing and the words that he had said to me about me and the other black students were very hurtful and yet we did not fight with fist instead we are trying to fight the right way although it is rough for us rihgt now i for one will not give up until justice is served with a side of hope
Posted by:adrienne 17March 12, 2008 8:29:51 AMRespond ^
no you see that is your way of seeing things we no diffrent no matter what you think we have it ten times harder then white people we can't get jobs because of our race we get arrested for just walking out our door and if there is a group of black men and just one white near by the guys are accused of raping her so don't go into that whole black people get away with everything just because of their race because as a black women i know diffrent
Posted by:adrienne 17March 12, 2008 8:37:05 AMRespond ^
what is that supposed to mean just because one black person is "getto" as people call it doesn't make it that way for all of us
Posted by:adrienne 17March 12, 2008 8:39:53 AMRespond ^
Good article. I also think you should treat Rodney King w/ the same skepticism. No one else in his car was hurt because they did not resist. His previous and subsequent life clearly show he was not deserving of the applause. To us whites, if Jackson or Sharpton show up, it is bogus race hustling. And, I say that as a person who liked to watch and applauded Jackson's handling of "Both Sides Now" and I love to listen to Sharpton when I see him in discussions. But, to me, when I see black pastors praising gangster rappers, when I see black lawmakers fighting school choice, when I see black churches turning a blind eye to the rampant immorality w/i the black community that leads to illigitimacy rates in the 70th percentile and on and on, I loose sympathy for the arguments of blacks who want to blame it all on "Whitey". As Pryor said about his trip to visit the Brother's in San Quentin, "They are crazy, they belong there." I am not sure where you were in the AF, but, I spent 26 years in the military establishment. 21 in the army and 5 as a civilian. I worked with many black men and women (as well as Asians, South Sea Islanders, Hawaiians etc), the majority of whom were wonderful, hardworking and accomplished people. I was proud when WK used me as a character reference his job w/ the USPS. On the other hand, there was no shortage of blacks, and others for that matter, who had a chip on their shoulder and felt the world owed them something, which it does not. In my life, I have been in fear for my life four times. Once as a teenager waiting for a jeepney outside of Manila late one night. Second in Oct 74 in Vietnam when a motorcycle cab tried to take me off to meet some friends and twice in Korea in 1975 when, in one case, I was physically attacked by black soldiers in the middle of the day for "walking by a brother when he was talking" and at night when I went w/ a black friend into town (Itaewan) to a "black soldier controlled" area. Had I not been "under the protection" of my black friend, it would not have been pretty. Racism is definately a road that runs both, or many directions. Let us deal with actual racism, not use it for an excuse for all of our failures. I agree re the murder charge on the Jenna six. But, these were not the poster boys the Sharptons and Jacksons of the world made them out to be.
Posted by:dave athertonApril 12, 2008 10:53:04 AMRespond ^
Unfortunately, Ms. Dickerson, who is married to a rich white architect and gave birth to 2 blonde-haired children whom she has referred to as "klan robed white" because they can pass, has forgotten what it is to be black in America. Understand the author's back story and keep that in mind when reading her pieces. She's out of touch.
Posted by:dancer76May 4, 2008 4:32:21 PMRespond ^