Why has the Jena 6 situation garnered so much attention and outrage? Many of us, as people of color, feel responsible and compelled to stand up for our brethren in small town America who are resigned to the persistent unjust treatment of African- Americans.
As a college professor, I try to discuss current events and relate them to the topics being discussed in the class readings. As one who teaches juvenile justice at an HBCU, the topic of race, males and disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system and the larger criminal justice system is one that is often discussed in class. The “Jena 6” case is no exception and indeed has received a great deal of attention among the student body on the North Carolina Central University campus to include forums and a planned trip this week in support of the Jena 6.
However, as teachers often do, I try to get students to think critically about the current issues that are making news. As it relates to the Jena 6, I asked students to consider how this situation could have escalated to such a degree because hanging nooses as a display of overt racism has always been part of the ugliness of our society? So what is the context of our emotions, as it relates to Jena 6? People of color have to deal with the ignorance of others on a daily basis, so why is this situation getting the coverage it’s getting and why the reaction from students, the media and others? Could the context of our emotions be that it is heartening to see images of these poor Black people in this small town helpless and resigned to the fate of these young people, as displayed by the media? So what makes Jena, La., different?
Is it the actual act of hanging nooses on trees something that only occurs in small town America? Well no, as the recent University of Maryland, College Park situation shows. There was a recent incident where a noose was found hanging from a tree in front of an area on campus where both Black students and faculty are known to frequent. This is another example of the countless displays that occur yearly and most do not get any coverage past the local media and some special interest media.
So what is it? I think in some way we (that is, people of color) feel responsible for people of color who live in small town America because many of us come from that environment. Would the situation have been different if the people in the area felt there was another way out? I saw a resident of Jena being interviewed on television last week and her sentiment was “this is how we (Blacks) are treated in Jena.” She seemed resigned to her fate and that of all the people of color in Jena.
