As usual, the whole story is not being presented.

It all started over a year ago during a Q&A session at Jena High School. A black student had noticed that only white students sat under a tree during the lunch period and asked "in a jocular fashion" if black students could sit there as well. The school's principal replied that students could sit wherever they wanted. A few days later, two ropes were tied into nooses and hung from the trees limbs, which sparked controversy in the small community.

The school investigated the incident and found the three students responsible. Parents of black students demanded that that three students be expelled from school. The school's principal wanted to do the same. However, the district school board, IN KEEPING WITH DISTRICT POLICY, choose to suspend the perpetrators for three days.

On September 30, 2006, the main academic building at Jena High caught fire and the building destroyed. Investigators found that arson was to blame, the fire had been set in multiple locations. Two years earlier, a tornado had destroyed LaSalle Parish's only other high school. Students were adamant that they wanted to return to class. Seniors insisted that they wanted to graduate from Jena High. Instead of canceling the school year and busing students to other Parishes, the Parish decided to hold classes in existing buildings at the school like the Band Room, the school's gymnasium, and an undamaged wing of classrooms. On December 4, despite the fact that most of the school's classrooms were unusable, classes resumed for the students of Jena High.

That same day, Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High, was attacked at the school. He was knocked unconscious and later transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was treated for 3 hours. Six students, Jesse Ray Beard, Mychal Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw, all black, were implicated in the attack. Bailey and Shaw were also involved in a fight on December 2 where they attacked in individual in a store parking lot. Bailey was also involved in a fight on Dec. 1st. Investigators say that the three fights were all connected, but were NOT connected to the school arson case OR the noose-in-the-tree incident.

On Dec. 16, the "Jena Six" were charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in Justin Barker's beating. In early January, 5 of the students were expelled from school (Beard was not) in accordance with district policy. In May, as the trial dates for the defendants approached, protests started demanding that the charges be either dropped or reduced. "How can a simple school fight be attempted murder?" protestors asked.

In June, court documents were released where OVER 40 EYEWITNESSES gave statements regarding the incident:

"When I heard a black boy say something to Justin, I turned my head and I saw somebody hit Justin," one student wrote in a statement. "He fell in between the gym door and the concrete barricade. I saw Robert Bailey kneel down and punch Justin in the head. ... Then Carwin Jones kicked him in the head. ... Theo Shaw tried to kick him so I pushed Theo Shaw down. I also saw Mychal Bell standing over him."

Phrases like "stomped him badly," "stepped on his face," "knocked out cold on the ground," and "slammed his head on the concrete beam" were used by the students in their statements.

In late June the jury was selected for the trial. Over 150 people were sent summons, but only 50 reported, which is normal for LaSalle Parish. Since punishment for refusing a jury duty summons is typically left up to the judge, no effort was made to get the other 100 people to show up (again, this is typical for LaSalle Parish). Race is not recorded in the LaSalle Parish database so it will not appear that race is not used as a factor in jury selection. Although both black and white people made up the 150 people who received summons, NONE of the 50 people that actually REPORTED were black.

Defendant Mychal Bell's charges were reduced to second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit second-degree battery and Bell was convicted on those charges. In early September, the charges of conspiracy to commit second-degree batter were thrown out. Prior to this incident, Bell had been adjudicated four times for violent crime, two each for battery and damage to property.

Earlier this month, the charges against Jones, Shaw, and Bailey were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit second-degree battery. Bell's conviction as an adult was overturned by a state appeals court. LaSalle Parish must now decide if it will appeal the decision, or accept it and either try Bell with attempted-murder as an adult, or aggravated second-degree battery as a juvenile.

So when you hear tonight that the "Jena Six" were convicted by an "all-white jury," remember that only ONE member of the Jena Six was convicted of anything, the conviction was overturned, and ONLY WHITE people showed up for jury duty in the first place. When you hear the "noose incident" mentioned in the same breath as "Jena Six," remember that at no time was the noose incident mentioned as a catalyst for the attack (at least not until after the boys were arrested), and investigation found that the victim was not involved in the noose incident at all. When you here that nothing was done about the "noose incident," remember that the three boys responsible were punished in accordance with district policy, and that Federal and state investigators checked in to the incident and could not find were any violation of the law occurred. When you hear that this was "just a schoolyard fight," remember that the victim was beaten unconscious and required a trip to the ER by ambulance. A "fight" is when two guys square off and go at it. Reports indicate that Jenkins was sucker-punched, and repeatedly hit and stomped on while lying unconscious on the ground.

Also, ask yourself these questions:
1) If the victim were BLACK, and the six who attacked him were WHITE, would Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton have immediately come to their defense? Would 60,000 black people have hopped in buses and rushed to their aid? Fuck no. Who are the real "racists" here?
2) If everyone involved, the attackers and the victim, were black would anyone even give a shit?

Jena Six FAQ and timeline