Oh the wonderful world we live in....
Exhibit One: Jena, Louisiana
The "white tree"
At Jena High School, students of different races customarily seldom sat together. Black students traditionally sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large shade tree, referred to as the "white tree," in the center of the school courtyard.[1]
During a school assembly on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman student asked permission from the principal to sit in the shade of the "white tree."[2] According to the recounting of events given by U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, the question was posed in a "jocular fashion."[3] The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted."[2]
The following morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. Anthony Jackson, one of two black teachers at the high school, recalled, "I jokingly said to another teacher, 'One's for you, one's for me. Who's the other one for?'" Jena's principal learned that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The board of education overruled his recommendation, to which Superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed. The punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.[1][4] The school superintendent was quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat against anybody."[5] Black residents of Jena claim that this decision stoked racial tensions that led to subsequent events.[4] The school district and parents who were aware of the incident did not report it to the police or any legal authority, though such incidents may be prosecuted as federal hate crimes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[3]
District Attorney Reed Walters and the "pen statement"
Accounts differ as to what happened afterward. According to some accounts, on September 5, a number of black students organized a peaceful sit-in under the white tree in response to the commuted punishment of the perpetrators. The protest was then dispersed by police.[6][7] U.S. Attorney Washington, speaking in July 2007, stated he could find no confirmation of this protest occurring. He could confirm that police were called to the school several times in the days after the noose incident in response to a rash of interracial fights between students.[3]
The principal called an impromptu assembly on September 6, in which students segregated themselves into white and black sections. The Jena Police Department asked LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters to attend and speak at the assembly. Walters was unhappy with the request because he was busy preparing for a case and, upon arrival, felt that the students were not paying proper attention to him.[3] Walters is alleged to have threatened the protesters if they didn't stop fussing over an "innocent prank" and to have stated, "See this pen? I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen." Black students state that Walters looked specifically at members of the black audience as he said this. Walters and school board member Billy Fowler, also present, deny that the comments were specifically directed at black students.[1] Nevertheless, police began patrolling the halls of Jena High on September 7, and the school was declared to be in total lockdown the day after.[8]
On September 10, several dozen black students attempted to address the school board concerning the recent events but were refused because the board was of the opinion that "the noose issue" had been adequately resolved.[9] Racial tensions and fights continued through the fall but were held in check by the ongoing football season. The high school team was doing unusually well, in large part due to efforts of several star black players, and students were unwilling to do anything to upset the season.[1]
Exhibit Two: West Virginia
Six Held In West Virginia Torture Horror
Cops: Black woman raped, beaten, abused during week-long captivity
SEPTEMBER 11--A black West Virginia woman was sexually assaulted, stabbed, and tortured while being held captive by her white abductors, one of whom told her, "That's what we do to niggers around here." The 23-year-old victim was freed Saturday after cops responded to the home of Frankie Brewster for a "welfare check on a female that was reportedly being held against her will." When cops arrived, Brewster claimed she was the only one home, but then the victim limped to the door and said, "Help me." According to six harrowing criminal complaints, the woman, who apparently had been held for more than a week, had four stab wounds in her left leg, bruised eyes, and had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and humiliated. The woman told police that she was forced to lick Brewster's "toes, vagina, and anal cavity." Brewster's son Bobby forced the woman to eat dog and rat feces, according to one complaint filed in Logan County Magistrate Court. The victim, who is now hospitalized, was raped at knifepoint, choked with a cable cord, and had her hair pulled and cut during the ordeal. Police, who have arrested six defendants for their roles in the abduction and attack, are looking for other suspects who may have lured the victim to Brewster's home.
The "white tree"
At Jena High School, students of different races customarily seldom sat together. Black students traditionally sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large shade tree, referred to as the "white tree," in the center of the school courtyard.[1]
During a school assembly on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman student asked permission from the principal to sit in the shade of the "white tree."[2] According to the recounting of events given by U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, the question was posed in a "jocular fashion."[3] The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted."[2]
The following morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. Anthony Jackson, one of two black teachers at the high school, recalled, "I jokingly said to another teacher, 'One's for you, one's for me. Who's the other one for?'" Jena's principal learned that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The board of education overruled his recommendation, to which Superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed. The punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.[1][4] The school superintendent was quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat against anybody."[5] Black residents of Jena claim that this decision stoked racial tensions that led to subsequent events.[4] The school district and parents who were aware of the incident did not report it to the police or any legal authority, though such incidents may be prosecuted as federal hate crimes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[3]
District Attorney Reed Walters and the "pen statement"
Accounts differ as to what happened afterward. According to some accounts, on September 5, a number of black students organized a peaceful sit-in under the white tree in response to the commuted punishment of the perpetrators. The protest was then dispersed by police.[6][7] U.S. Attorney Washington, speaking in July 2007, stated he could find no confirmation of this protest occurring. He could confirm that police were called to the school several times in the days after the noose incident in response to a rash of interracial fights between students.[3]
The principal called an impromptu assembly on September 6, in which students segregated themselves into white and black sections. The Jena Police Department asked LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters to attend and speak at the assembly. Walters was unhappy with the request because he was busy preparing for a case and, upon arrival, felt that the students were not paying proper attention to him.[3] Walters is alleged to have threatened the protesters if they didn't stop fussing over an "innocent prank" and to have stated, "See this pen? I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen." Black students state that Walters looked specifically at members of the black audience as he said this. Walters and school board member Billy Fowler, also present, deny that the comments were specifically directed at black students.[1] Nevertheless, police began patrolling the halls of Jena High on September 7, and the school was declared to be in total lockdown the day after.[8]
On September 10, several dozen black students attempted to address the school board concerning the recent events but were refused because the board was of the opinion that "the noose issue" had been adequately resolved.[9] Racial tensions and fights continued through the fall but were held in check by the ongoing football season. The high school team was doing unusually well, in large part due to efforts of several star black players, and students were unwilling to do anything to upset the season.[1]
Exhibit Two: West Virginia
Six Held In West Virginia Torture Horror
Cops: Black woman raped, beaten, abused during week-long captivity
SEPTEMBER 11--A black West Virginia woman was sexually assaulted, stabbed, and tortured while being held captive by her white abductors, one of whom told her, "That's what we do to niggers around here." The 23-year-old victim was freed Saturday after cops responded to the home of Frankie Brewster for a "welfare check on a female that was reportedly being held against her will." When cops arrived, Brewster claimed she was the only one home, but then the victim limped to the door and said, "Help me." According to six harrowing criminal complaints, the woman, who apparently had been held for more than a week, had four stab wounds in her left leg, bruised eyes, and had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and humiliated. The woman told police that she was forced to lick Brewster's "toes, vagina, and anal cavity." Brewster's son Bobby forced the woman to eat dog and rat feces, according to one complaint filed in Logan County Magistrate Court. The victim, who is now hospitalized, was raped at knifepoint, choked with a cable cord, and had her hair pulled and cut during the ordeal. Police, who have arrested six defendants for their roles in the abduction and attack, are looking for other suspects who may have lured the victim to Brewster's home.