Racial Demons In Louisiana

I wonder how many other small towns are in the same boat.

Racial demons rear heads
After months of unrest between blacks and whites in Louisiana town, some see racism and uneven justice

TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE


By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent

May 18, 2007, 10:15 PM CDT

JENA, La. -- The trouble in Jena started with the nooses. Then it rumbled along the town's jagged racial fault lines. Finally, it exploded into months of violence between blacks and whites.

Now the 3,000 residents of this small lumber and oil town deep in the heart of central Louisiana are confronting Old South racial demons many thought had long ago been put to rest.

One morning last September, students arrived at the local high school to find three hangman's nooses dangling from a tree in the courtyard.

The tree was on the side of the campus that, by long-standing tradition, had always been claimed by white students, who make up more than 80 percent of the 460 students. But a few of the school's 85 black students had decided to challenge the accepted state of things and asked school administrators if they, too, could sit beneath the tree's cooling shade.

"Sit wherever you want," school officials told them. The next day, the nooses were hanging from the branches.

African-American students and their parents were outraged and intimidated by the display, which instantly summoned memories of the mob lynchings that once terrorized blacks across the American South. Three white students were quickly identified as being responsible, and the high school principal recommended that they be expelled.

"Hanging those nooses was a hate crime, plain and simple," said Tracy Bowens, a black mother of two students at the high school who protested the incident at a school board meeting.

But Jena's white school superintendent, Roy Breithaupt, ruled that the nooses were just a youthful stunt and suspended the students for three days, angering blacks who felt harsher punishments were justified.

"Adolescents play pranks," said Breithaupt, the superintendent of the LaSalle Parish school system. "I don't think it was a threat against anybody."

Yet it was after the noose incident that the violent, racially charged events that are still convulsing Jena began.

First, a series of fights between black and white students erupted at the high school over the nooses. Then, in late November, unknown arsonists set fire to the central wing of the school, which still sits in ruins. Off campus, a white youth beat up a black student who showed up at an all-white party. A few days later, another young white man pulled a shotgun on three black students at a convenience store.

Finally, on Dec. 4, a group of black students at the high school allegedly jumped a white student on his way out of the gym, knocked him unconscious and kicked him after he hit the floor. The victim—allegedly targeted because he was a friend of the students who hung the nooses and had been taunting blacks—was not seriously injured and spent only a few hours in the hospital.

But the LaSalle Parish district attorney, Reed Walters, opted to charge six black students with attempted second-degree murder and other offenses, for which they could face a maximum of 100 years in prison if convicted. All six were expelled from school.

To the defendants, their families and civil rights groups that have examined the events, the attempted murder charges brought by a white prosecutor are excessive and part of a pattern of uneven justice in the town.

The critics note, for example, that the white youth who beat the black student at the party was charged only with simple battery, while the white man who pulled the shotgun at the convenience store wasn't charged with any crime at all. But the three black youths in that incident were arrested and accused of aggravated battery and theft after they wrestled the weapon from the man—in self-defense, they said.

"There's been obvious racial discrimination in this case," said Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who described Jena as a "racial powder keg" primed to ignite. "It appears the black students were singled out and targeted in this case for some unusually harsh treatment."

That's how the mother of one of the defendants sees things as well.

"They are sending a message to the white kids, 'You have committed this hate crime, you were taunting these black children, and we are going to allow you to continue doing what you are doing,'" said Caseptla Bailey, mother of Robert Bailey Jr.

Bailey, 17, is caught up in several of the Jena incidents, as both a victim and alleged perpetrator. He was the black student who was beaten at the party, and he was among the students arrested for allegedly grabbing the shotgun from the man at the convenience store. And he's one of the six students charged with attempted murder for the Dec. 4 attack.

The district attorney declined repeated requests to be interviewed for this story. But other white leaders insist there are no racial tensions in the community, which is 85 percent white and 12 percent black.

"Jena is a place that's moving in the right direction," said Mayor Murphy McMillan. "Race is not a major local issue. It's not a factor in the local people's lives."

Still others, however, acknowledge troubling racial undercurrents in a town where only 16 years ago white voters cast most of their ballots for David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader who ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana governor.

"I've lived here most of my life, and the one thing I can state with absolutely no fear of contradiction is that LaSalle Parish is awash in racism — true racism," a white Pentecostal preacher, Eddie Thompson, wrote in an essay he posted on the Internet. "Here in the piney woods of central Louisiana … racism and bigotry are such a part of life that most of the citizens do not even recognize it."

The lone black member of the school board agrees.

"There's no doubt about it—whites and blacks are treated differently here," said Melvin Worthington, who was the only school board member to vote against expelling the six black students charged in the beating case. "The white kids should have gotten more punishment for hanging those nooses. If they had, all the stuff that followed could have been avoided."

And the troubles at the high school are not over yet.

On May 10, police arrested Justin Barker, 17, the white victim of the Dec. 4 beating. He was alleged to have a rifle loaded with 13 bullets stashed behind the seat of his pickup truck parked in the school lot. Barker told police he had forgotten it was there and had no intention of using it.

hwitt@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

PEACE & LOVE TO EDDIE

We have some sad news about a really awesome Citizen Against Hate. Many of you will remember an interview that Eye On Hate did with Edward “Eddie” Lee on April 21st in regards to the NSM rally in South Carolina. On May 14th, Eddie lee passed away from a sudden heart attack. Eddie was a board member of the Carolina Peace Organization and was only 44 years old. From the Carolina Peace Organizations website…I read the following.

Eddie was committed to waging peace through non-violent action, including creative critique alongside other puppetistas at the School of the Americas protest in Ft. Benning, GA. Eddie also worked to support U.S. troops and to bring them home from Iraq, and advocated for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. As a long-time participant in Food Not Bombs, he shared food and good will with hundreds of Columbia residents Sundays in Finlay Park. Most recently, Eddie co-organized a counter-protest of the Neo-Nazi rally on April 21st.


Please keep Eddie's wife, Julie, in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to Carolina Peace Resource Center and the SC Progressive Network (www.scpronet.com). Both websites have homepage "donate now" buttons, or you can send checks to:
Carolina Peace Resource Center, PO Box 7933 Columbia, SC 29202

We will put the information up at citizens against hate dot com and nikki’s nest at niksnest.blogspot.com

It’s always difficult to lose someone you care so much about – and even more difficult to report on that loss. To Julie, I want to say that I hope she feels the arms of all of us around her and that she knows how special she and Eddie are. Their dedication to making this world a kinder and gentler place has been felt and heard in more than just South Carolina. Julie, know that your anti-racist family is here for you and should you need a shoulder, we have lots of them. Be strong, and take care – we’ll talk again soon. And to Eddie – we love you and hope that we make you proud in our future endeavors. God bless and keep you in his arms for all eternity.

NEW TIME

NEW TIME SLOT!

Just for tonight, Eye On Hate Radio will air at 8:00 EST instead of the usual 9:00 time. Next week we will be back on track.

My People - My Ass

I want to know when this happened! I demand to know when the vote took place and why didn’t we know about it? Who the hell went to the polls and elected these idiots to speak for us? No, I’m not talking about Congress or the President. I’m talking about people like David Duke, Hal Turner, Alex Linder, Bill White, Michael Blevins, Tom Metzger, Don Black, etc. You know – the so called “leaders” of the so-called “Pro White Movement.”

Let’s look at this for a minute. First of all, I didn’t know there was a “Pro-White Movement” being started. I have known for decades that there are certain people who are on the fringe of our society who are not “normal.” I have also known that there are those who would like to put all non-whites into a terminal sleep. But…a “movement?” I always thought it was a White Supremacist Movement or the Hate Movement.

But, it seems that somewhere, at some time, someone decided that the white race needed leaders and a movement all of its’ own. When was that? Why was that? Well, it quickly becomes evident that the racists from the White Supremacist Movement decided that since “normal” people didn’t much care for their brand of illogical “logic” that they would simply change the name. Hence, the White Supremacist Movement has become the “Pro-White Movement.” What colossal moron thought they could bamboozle the public into believing that this was somehow a kinder or gentler form of racism, I’m not sure – but it isn’t working too well.

Even more to the point, however, is that in all of their skewed and deranged wisdom, they believe that they speak for all of white America. No one asked me – and I’ll be willing to bet that no one asked you. Therefore, it is safe to assume that these so-called “leaders” are self-appointed Neanderthals who truly believe that they speak for an entire race of people.

What’s even worse is that there is little that comes out of their mouth that I, or any sane individual, agree with. Yet, they spew their hateful agenda from the steps of public buildings, or from the corners of our National Monuments, and claim that they are speaking for white people. Now, that pisses me off! But…it gets worse…

In their twisted representation of being the spokespeople for the white race, anyone not in agreement with them is now considered – are you ready for this? – anti-white. That’s right. In the bonehead mentality if you do not believe that all of the Jewish people are the spawns of Satan who need to be wiped off the face of the earth, if you do not advocate sending all black people back to Africa, if you don’t accept the superiority of the white race then you are absolutely anti-white and when they come to power you will suffer the Day of the Rope.

In addition to all of this whacked out ideological vomit, many of them consider themselves “patriots.” Yeah – that’s what America needs – a group of dedicated and loyal misfits who will rewrite history and bring us all up to speed on the true American Dream.

Now, if you are wondering what kind of brain injury could possibly cause such a scrambled and convoluted way of thinking, don’t trouble yourself trying to figure it out. Suffice it to say that, at least for now, they are relatively impotent.

Let this be a message to all of them, however. You do not speak for the white race and whoever told you that you do played a very cruel joke on you. If anything, you are a disgrace to the white race and one that I really hate having to apologize for. As you speak of all of the accomplishments made by “European Americans” you besmirch each and every one of those accomplishments with the ignorance that you display.

You are an embarrassment. A blight, not just on the white race but, on the human race. You have the chutzpah to claim to speak for the entire race, yet you lack common decency and human understanding. You are little men in a melee of self-loathing attempting to foist your own pitiful, self-deluded view of the world off on to others who are equally as dysfunctional. And, when you refer to us as "your people" you really show what a deranged reality you have.

If you didn’t make me so angry, I might just feel sorry for you. Instead of pity, however, I have nothing less than contempt. You proffer your same old tired rhetoric laced with a few euphemistic hooks that you think will get you into the mainstream when, in fact, the only place it takes you is into the cauldron of others labeled freaks, geeks, and weirdoes.

The one thing that I am most thankful for in all of this is that none of you – not one – will ever be able to persuade mainstream U.S.A. into buying what you are selling. Too bad for you – but, oh so good for us.

COLD SHOT - May 7

In this latest Cold Shot Nicole Nichols gives her thoughts on the upcoming Knoxville rallies and demonstrations; A commentary on the current movement to make the "n-word" illegal; and some very pointed comments about the actions of Joe Bednarsky.

Don't forget the Thursday night Eye On Hate show beginning at 9:00 EST where you can call in and comment on any of the commentary.

TO THE SHOW

TO CONTACT NICOLE

ALARM BELLS RING AS SLUR IS FORBIDDEN

Now, I am aware that there are some very passionate thoughts and feelings all tied up with this issue - but I think it is worth discussing since it has been brought to the forefront.


WP: Movement spreads against ‘n-word’
Slur ignites passions in churches, campuses and beyond
By Avis Thomas-Lester
The Washington Post
Updated: 12:18 a.m. CT May 2, 2007
The very mention of the word sends Jennifer Lowery-Bell's mind spinning back to a painful time.

"That word reminds me of lynchings and black men disappearing in the night and all of the dehumanizing things that used to happen to African Americans," said Lowery-Bell, 59, a black woman raised in the South. "I think no one should ever use that word. I think it should be against the law."

Long before music mogul Russell Simmons called on the recording industry last week to strike the N-word, Lowery-Bell of Largo wrote her governor, her county executive and her County Council member, asking them to help ban the six-letter racial slur. She's part of an upsurge of popular sentiment against the word, not only in the entertainment industry but in churches, schools and city halls.

The Rev. Grainger Browning of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington has been urging his members to stop using it. Students at the historically black Bowie State University banished the word from two dorms and started charging those who use it $25 fines.

Nationally, the NAACP held a symbolic funeral for the word two weeks ago, part of its Stop Campaign to strike such language from the lexicon. The publisher of black magazines Ebony and Jet ordered writers late last year to stop using the word. The New York City Council passed a resolution in February asking residents to refrain from using the word. And tiny Brazoria in southeastern Texas tried unsuccessfully to pass an ordinance leveling $500 fines for uttering the word.

During deliberations there, black residents protested the proposed ban more vigorously than their white neighbors, Mayor Kenneth Corley said.

"When whites use it, they use it to hurt," said Corley, who is white. "When the black community uses it, they disrespect themselves."

His experience touches on the central paradox of the campaign to excise the N-word from common usage: The effort is aimed not just at shutting down racists, shock jocks and supremacists. It's also aimed at educating African Americans, many of them born after the civil rights era, who have adopted the word as an endearment.

There is a difference, said Leonard Young, 19, of Fort Washington: Racists end the word with an "er," African Americans end it with an "a."

"I don't think it's offensive," said Young, a black computer science major at Prince George's Community College. "It hasn't been offensive since slavery. It's only offensive when people of other races use it."

Fallout from what Imus said
The movement to ban the word picked up momentum last year after actor Michael Richards's racist rant toward black patrons in a Los Angeles comedy club. It got another boost this month when shock jock Don Imus referred to the predominantly African American Rutgers University women's basketball team in racially loaded terms.

The fallout from Imus's comments led to the axing of his show on MSNBC and CBS Radio and prompted music mogul Simmons to call on recording artists to stop using the N-word, "bitch" and "ho" in versions of songs played on the radio and in music videos.

The Imus controversy also sparked conversations among African Americans over dinner tables, on lawn chairs and in church pews.

Young contemplated the matter while on a lunch break with Devin Tyler, 18, of Hyattsville, a business-hotel management major. Tyler, who is black, admits using the N-word with his black friends. He has also heard his parents say it but in a different way.

"My parents use it to talk about people who are doing wrong . . .," he said. "They use it about people who are acting negative."

Horace Avent, 39, a black security officer from Waldorf, said he uses the N-word "with the fellas when we are playing around." He doesn't feel he is being insensitive to his history. "It's a word, and I'm not offended by a word."

Marcia Harris, 38, is trying to combat that kind of thinking. Co-founder of the Web site Banthenword.com, the New York woman said she carries around a book with graphic pictures of lynchings and pulls it out whenever she hears an African American use the N-word.

"I show them those pictures of black men being lynched when you know the racists who did it were saying this word," she said. "This word came from hate. It was about hating us. It is not an endearment."

That sort of education, said Jahar Abraham, 39, of Southeast Washington, changed his mind.


Abraham, manager and promoter of the go-go band Familiar Faces, said he used the N-word until a mentor exposed him to its use in African American history.

"Some of these are kids who don't know their history. You know what MLK means to them? Money-loving killers, not Martin Luther King Jr. They took those initials and made them about how they feel," Abraham said. "That's what they do with that word."

In his book "The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why," The Washington Post's Jabari Asim traces the open use of the slur by African Americans to the late 1960s. He argues that the word, no matter who utters it, has "abetted our systematic dehumanization."

Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of black popular culture at Duke University, disagrees, saying African American artists use the word "to capture the complexity of black life." He said the real debate should be over "stopping the negative use of it."

"If you look at how black artists have used that word, historically, they have used it in creative ways, the same way black cooks have made chitterlings into a delicacy," Neal said.

But Browning, the Fort Washington pastor, said the wide usage in books, films and comedy acts -- including those of such black comedians as Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle -- has desensitized young people to the word's ugly history.

Adults need to share their painful experiences, Browning said, recalling the slurs he heard as a 13-year-old in 1965, integrating a white high school in Hampton, Va.

‘The pain of our history’
"As adults, we sometimes shield our children about the pain of our history by not telling them," Browning said. "But they need to know. They need to know how that word has been used against us, so they will know that they should never use it."

At Bowie State, students and administrators decided the best way to stop young black men from saying the word was to ban it from their dorms and levy fines on those who use it. Artie L. Travis, vice president of student affairs, said students in the two male dorms voted for the ban two years ago.

"Part of what we are trying to do is prepare them for being out in the world and to teach them leadership roles," he said. "That word does not go along with those goals."

Tsion Bennett, 24, a communications major and spoken word performer at Bowie State who is black, said he does not use the N-word in his writing but admits to dropping it in casual conversation. "I can understand why, in an environment that's trying to encourage elevated thinking, you would say, 'Let's begin to distance ourselves from that word,' " he said.

Lowery-Bell said she decided to approach Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) after hearing about Corley's effort in Texas. "Governor O'Malley, a policy of this type will provide some healing and closure for African Americans," she wrote in February, sending copies to Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and council member Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville.)

An O'Malley spokesman said the letter has been referred to the governor's legislative staff for further study. In 2002, while O'Malley was mayor of Baltimore, the City Council there passed a nonbinding resolution condemning the N-word.

"I don't think they took me seriously," Lowery-Bell said. "People tend not to think this is important. But to me and other African Americans, it is very important."

Staff writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker contributed to this report.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18426888/

EYE ON HATE LIVE TONIGHT

Eye On Hate Radio Line -up for May 3rd Broadcast.
Join Eye On Hate Radio at 9pm est as we address the issues of organized racism and bigotry.
Some of the topics we will be covering are :

Eye On Hate Special Report "State of Hate in Pennsylvania";

Pennsylvania: No Place for Hate Day
The Pennsylvania General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution designating May 1, 2007 as "No Place for Hate" day.

A report from Andrew from ARA Nashville on the Homophobic Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church;

Dangerous felon with KKK ties moves to the Carolina's.

LISTEN HERE