Racism in the 21st Century

I found this article to be very interesting. It talks about racism in a small town and the justice system prosecuting the black teens severely. I do not agree totally with how people are handling the case, I do agree the prosecution of the teens were harsh. I do know there is still racism in America, but I do not think it is one sided. This is a town were it seems from what I read racism runs from both groups. The biggest problem is how the prosecutor handled the case of the 'Jena 6'. I do not believe he was fair in punishment. Especially since some white teens beat up another black teen and nothing happened to them.

In Jena, LA there are thousands of people gathered to protest the harsh prosecution of six black high school students being charged with beating a white classmate unconscious, Justin Barker. Jena, LA is a small town with a majority white population. Last September some white students put three nooses up in a tree called “the white tree” at Jena High School. The teenagers who placed the nooses in a tree were not expelled, as black parents thought they should be. Instead they were suspended for only three days, calling it a noose prank. The violence seemed to escalate from that point on. There was another incident involving black teenagers chasing after one of the white teenagers who attacked the black teenager at a party. The white teens were not charged with anything for attacking the black teen. The white teenager, who was being chased, pulled an unloaded shotgun on the black teens that were chasing him. The black teens took the shotgun away from him and were charged with theft. December 4, 2006 is when the assault on Justin Barker took place. They were charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and aggravated battery. The charges were later reduced to conspiracy and battery after the civil rights activists protested.

The district attorney, Reed Walters, denies the charges against the teens are racially motivated. He does not think the noose incident and brawl were related. He has not found any Louisiana law to prosecute the white teens who put the nooses in the tree, which eventually led to beating.

What lead to the rally was the initial charges of attempted murder. Many demonstrators think even the reduced charges were too heavy for a “school yard brawl”. Many people believe this rally is the beginning of the 21st century civil rights. Rev. Al Sharpton believes racism is not over and there are towns all across the country with racism.

The little town of Jenna, LA is dealing with the unwelcome guest of protesters. The white people of the town agree there has been trouble, but the protesters overlook the fact that the trouble makers are on both sides of the racial divide.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/20/AR2007092000259.html