College students from schools throughout the country took to the streets of Jena, La., yesterday to decry the racially charged case of six black teens accused of beating a white high school student.
On this campus, students showed similar unity in calling for an end to racism, wearing shades of green and black in a show of support for the teens, five of whom were charged as adults with attempted murder. The teens’ charges were brought after months of racial tension at the tiny Louisiana town’s high school, where students hung three nooses from a schoolyard tree after black students questioned why only white students gathered there.
The incident was brought particularly close to home after a noose was hung from a tree outside the Nyumburu Cultural Center, sparking debate about the depth of racial divisions on this campus. Yesterday, students at the Nyumburu-sponsored Juke Joint hip-hop show, many of whom wore “Free the Jena 6” pins, expressed disgust similar to that of protesters nationwide.
“Jena 6 should not be happening,” said Earl Schaffer, a junior English major who helped organize the event. “But that just shows we live in a racist society, and things are not going to change unless we change it.”
In Louisiana, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were surrounded by college students who rode buses to the town. Many expressed outrage that after the nooses appeared in the tree, three white students faced only suspensions from school and not criminal charges for the incident.
Yet when six black students brawled in the schoolyard with a white student, who was bloodied in the attack yet attended an event later that night, five were charged with attempted murder. Yesterday’s protests were scheduled on the day one of those students was to be sentenced, but a Louisiana appeals court judge threw out his conviction because he ruled that prosecutors should have kept the case in juvenile court.
Stephanie Brown, the national youth director for the NAACP, told The Associated Press that the case in Jena was particularly disturbing for college students because they aren’t much older than the high school students charged in the case. But it was clear that students yesterday also felt an even stronger connection because of the hate crime outside Nyumburu.
“What’s happening is not acceptable,” said Anthony Gregg, a junior economics major. “I’m disgusted by it.”
Others said they believe racism still exists on the campus and in the country, and said a need exists to raise awareness and motivate students of different races to blend together.
“A lot of the reason why this happens is because of ignorance,” Gregg added.
Earlier in the day, about 50 students gathered outside Nyumburu for a prayer vigil, reciting passages from the Bible and the Koran. Hearts were hung from trees as a symbol of taking back the space near where the noose had been hung.
But at the Juke Joint last night, although it was clear that many were angered by the events in Jena, students also expressed a resolve to maintain unity.
“I’m here in support of the Jena 6,” said freshman Christina Spain. “We have a chance to make things better and get rid of racism.”
Michael Currie, a freshman economics major, said the noose found on this campus did more to unify students than to divide.
“I don’t feel threatened on this campus. One noose is just one guy,” Currie said. “We’re gonna get over it and tomorrow’s going to be a better day.”
Reporter Mariana Minaya and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
