On Nov. 16 in Washington, D.C., a demonstration took place to speak out against hate crimes targeting the African American community. Although inclusive of all hate crimes against the Black community, it was inspired most specifically by the Jena 6 case.
The Jena 6 are six young African American students originally charged with second-degree attempted murder resulting from a schoolyard scuffle with a white racist classmate in December 2006. It was set off by the hanging of nooses under a tree. A growing movement to defend the Six has swept the United States.
The march’s primary aim was to pressure the Justice Department to prosecute the hanging of nooses as hate crimes.
Organizers estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 people participated, including more than 100 buses from as far away as Florida, Michigan and Washington State.
A rally at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue preceded the march. Ironically, during the centuries of slavery in the United States, the misnamed plaza served as one of many slave auction sites.
The rally featured prominent speakers such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr. “The Justice Department wouldn’t come to the people, we brought the people to the Justice Department, said Sharpton.
“Nooses are no prank. … We were lynched!” Martin Luther King III said, “Anytime there’s a hate crime the Justice Department should prosecute, and a noose is certainly a hate crime.”
Federal prosecutors claim they are actively investigating multiple noose incidents for possible prosecution, but said they did not pursue charges in the Jena case because such charges usually are not brought against minors.
Following the rally, demonstrators marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Justice Department, where the large crowd completely encircled it, stretching from ninth to twelfth streets on Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues. Demonstrators completed seven consecutive laps around the march route.
Participants were nearly all African American and included a diverse cross section of groups. Churches, labor unions, elementary through high school students, colleges and many other organizations were represented.
Members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation handed out placards that read “Free the Jena 6” and distributed thousands of Liberation newspapers featuring coverage on the case.
Actions in support of the Jena 6 have occurred at an increasing rate in recent months as awareness of the case has grown. On Sept. 20, more than 50,000 people marched in Jena, La. On Oct. 2 there was a demonstration at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. On Nov. 7 coordinated national demonstrations called by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) took place from Boston to Los Angeles, and many cities in between. The actions coincided with the start of the pre-trial hearings of four of the Jena 6—Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw.
Another of the Six, Mychal Bell, is languishing in jail. A racist judge recently sent Bell back to jail for 18 months for alleged probation violations. Bell’s trial in the Jena 6 case is set to begin on Dec. 6.
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