Jena Six Day of Action - Cleveland, Ohio

Fantastic coverage, thanks so much.

Well you certainly captured the feeling for me. I had tears in my eyes as I read the words of the song. Thanks Merrydeath!

Thanks Merrydeath for a great article. This is a prime example why citizen journalism is such a vital tool to get and stay informed with.

Fantastic Article. Thanks for sharing this with us all.

I am all for equal prosecution of all under the law, but what message are we really sending when the chant is "Free the Jena six" ?? you and 5 of your friends can beat up anybody you want and then get away with it after? I can GUARANTEE if this had been a case of 6 white boys beating up a black boy then this same march would have formed until all 6 of those boys were put to death, not to mention a white person doing anything to a black person is a hate crime, but when the tables are turned this is overlooked.

I question why it always is a racial debate when in anyway a black person gets the short end of the stick... why is it ok for Isaiah Thomas to call a black woman a bitch but if a white guy does hes hopping mad? Why when Imus made a careless comment on his radio show, that is meant for controversy The reverend and the NAACP is all for him losing his job, and ending his livelihood, but when Mr. Vick tortures and kills dogs in the name of fun we shouldn't "rush to ruin his career"

I for one am sick of the "double standard" people want equal, and when they are given equal they can't handle it. whatever... someday I'll move to Canada.

This is a wonderful job you have done here, thank you.

The Jena 6 incident was "briefly" covered on NBC news last night, that would be 9/19. The charges were to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery. The most detailed account that I have read on what happened and how it all came about is here.

"The next night, 16-year-old Robert Bailey and a few black friends tried to enter a party attended mostly by whites. When Bailey got inside, he was attacked and beaten. The next day, tensions escalated at a local convenience store. Bailey exchanged words with a white student who had been at the party. The white boy ran back to his truck and pulled out a pistol grip shotgun. Bailey ran after him and wrestled him for the gun.
After some scuffling, Bailey and his friends took the gun away and brought it home. Bailey was eventually charged with theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace. The white student who pulled the weapon was not charged at all.

The following day;

a white student named Justin Barker was loudly bragging to friends in the school hallway that Robert Bailey had been whipped by a white man on Friday night. When Barker walked into the courtyard, he was attacked by a group of black students. The first punch knocked Barker out and he was kicked several times in the head. But the injuries turned out to be superficial. Barker was examined by doctors and released; he went out to a social function later that evening.

Six black students were arrested and charged with aggravated assault. But District Attorney Reed Walters increased the charges to attempted second-degree murder."

American Justice at it's best? Hardly.

I came across this because I clicked on one of your pictures that was on a yahoo.com article. Being from Cleveland, I'm happy to see that we had a march/rally. I'm just disappointed that I hadn't heard of it. I enjoyed reading your recap of the event. It sounds like I would have loved being there...

I see nothing positive in a raised fist intimating "black power." No matter what the context, this is racist. Is this photo posted as something positive? I don't get it?? This is repugnant to me. No matter what the race (i.e., white fist), this is race-exclusive = racist and hateful. Racism goes both ways. If you think only one race of people (i.e., white) has the capacity to be racist then you are lacking basic cognitive/analytical skills (or have been brainwashed). I have come across just as many hateful black-militant types in my life as I have radical whites. You don't solve racism by simply taking sides and calling one side racist. This is self defeating.

I am very proud and grateful that Cleveland Ohio stood up to be counted. I too am from Cleveland Ohio and live in Atlanta Georgia. Thanks for your column and also for participating in the march. I was born in 1951 and have lived through the Birmingham Ala. marches, the marches of the 60's and now years later still see so much injustice against people of color.
People of Cleveland thanks from the bottom of my heart and thank you Merrydeath for your website.

"killing the messenger"...that's a trap too. What's hilarious is hatred of whites is tolerated and encouraged. Al Sharpton can go on all day about whitey lacrosse players at Duke University and the media just piles on...and Louis Farrakhan can talk about evil jews and he's considered a "leader." The raised fist may mean unity to you but it doesn't to me. It means hatred. Period. (I would submit a raised white fist can also have the meaning of "UNITY" if you're playing that game).

When I hear the Jena 6 rally compared to the civil rights movement I begin to wonder. What would Martin Luther King Jr. say if he heard about these young men using violence as a tool to "teach human values"? I think this is why Barack Obama is not engaging so much on this one. I want to stress however that the treatment of these men needs to be examined and a fair trial (including a jury of "peers") needs to be assured. If the rally causes this, so be it.

It is disturbing that there wasn't a march on Dunbar Village instead. Or more focus on BET, who are systematically poisoning African American television, and once again emphasizing materialism instead of responsiblity.

Hi Firsty. I like that you use humor when you are mad. But if you read my comment you would see I am behind the kids, just not for the adults who are taking this racially charged event and using it to divert our focus away from the more insidious forces against our children, i.e. materialism.

I never thought I would be called immature for trying to focus on human values, but nowadays things get stranger and stranger.

Keep laughing.

Awesome article Merrydeath. If you have any doubt about capturing the emotions of the march, dont. You did a great job! Merrydeath I am an African American male that lives in Chicago IL. I am currently in process of founding a Non-profit Org called The Vision Group, and I want to let you know that it's good to know that we as African Americans are not fighting this fight alone. We as citizens and children of God have to understand that this type of justice effects not just one group, but our entire nation. I want to thank you for your support, and may God Bless you!

Love your brother of another color :-)

G.P.

P.S. Could you write an article about my group? It would help spread the word about what we are trying to do for all our communities. Contact me via email if interested..

Oh please,....has everyone lost their mind?? Hanging nooses from a tree, even though a despicable act, is somewhat different than actually beating someone up. All I see is a bunch of people marching for something they have no knowledge of. Seems musch the same as the Free OJ signs and Free Michael Vick signs we have seen. There sure are a lot of people with nothing to do out there.

Yeah, I bring up the Duke lacrosse case because it shows why the black civil rights movement does not have the impact or meaning or clout it once did. No black leaders had anything to say about the Duke lacrosse case once it was determined that the charges were suspect. And after these same "leaders" had poured out hateful invective for months…praying, praying that the "white boys" would be found guilty. Did those Duke lacrosse players beat anybody to a pulp as happened in Jena? No. And their lives were ruined anyway. In Jena, yes, despicable things happened--on both sides. But, to me, it's made worse when Al Sharpton participates in the Jena event as a "leader." He is an unapologetic racist. He doesn't like white people. It's his franchise: go after whitey at every opportunity no matter how absurd the accusation. As many people have already said, the civil rights movement will never get the respect it once did when you have race-baiting charlatans like Sharpton as leaders.

I've been raised among all kinds of nationalities from around the world & count myself exceptionally lucky in that regard. I've learned more about the world around me from many points of view than I have a right to when you consider that I grew up more on the streets than in the good home with good parents, that like other parents, had a kid that just wouldn't listen to reason. From 1978- 1998 I was into all kinds of behavior, that dead to rights, on the money, I should have been locked up for a long time. As a kid, I should have done adult time for adult crimes. For example, In the 4th grade I started carrying a handgun to school, this was at a time before this kind of thing became a common occurrence in our "modern" school system. I fell between the cracks of the law and did no time (other than a little community service). To this day I count myself very fortunate to have change my ways at all, without legal consequences. I never have cared where a person is from, what they look like or who they worship, all kinds of people fell victim to my bad behavior. I "know" I should have done adult time for my adult crimes, for which I would still be in the legal system. In that regard, anyone who commits adult crimes should do adult time. How else, in these days, where kids are getting totally out of control (like I was) are we to be safe from kids like the kind of kid I was. I'm not saying lock them up with adults, but instead lock them away from society & give them a well rounded education(this of coarse would have to include teaching them that a persons age, color or creed for that matter, makes them no less human than they themselves) that should prepare them for a world where social unacceptable behavior, like hate crimes, will not be tolerated regardless of age or color. I was given all kinds of rope to hang myself and little was ever done. I only got worse as I got away with more of whatever I happen to be doing. I didn't begin to change until I was shown that my way of doing things would never lead to peace of mind, which I wanted. I was shown by example, by people who had lived a life like mine, who "spoke my language" (I've had a few mentors). Today I mentor kids, I freely share my experience with them & make a point to let them know that the way I lived growing up, alcohol & drug abuse & crime, just doesn't begin to make the cut in life.

Does anyone know whether any of these juveniles have prior records? Would that make any difference? My understanding is that the first young man struck a second young man with sufficient force to render him unconscious. While the second young man was lying helpless on the ground, the first young man, along with his five comrades, continued the assault. Personally, like you, I am ashamed to live in a country where an African American gets prosecuted for assaulting a white kid who has it coming. Unfortunately, we still live in a bigoted society where African Americans (like plain americans) can be charged with juvenile and criminal offenses. The absurd result is that many African Americans are incarcerated. Naturally, (as all here know), when we demand "equality" we don't really mean "equal treatment." Any individual with a scintilla of cultural sensitivity should know this. Clearly, that white kid needed correction and the JenaSix were only facilitating the administration of justice. Hence, (as those posting here are aware), arresting and charging these young men was unmitigated racism. When will America finally give African Americans what they are entitled to—a bifurcated government, economy, and legal system (and naturally, plain americans should foot the bill). Now that's the kind of "equality" we're talking about! Can I get an amen?