Opinion: The ‘Jena Six’ and Democratic politics
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The story of the ‘Jena Six,’ which our colleague Miguel Bustillo wrote about over the weekend, is one of those nuance-filled tales of old prejudices and modern responses that bedevil politicians.
If you’re unfamiliar with the details, the short version (and you really should read Bustillo’s article linked above) is that the story began last year when a black high school student in Jena, La., wanted to sit under a tree traditionally used by white students (separate but equal trees?). The next day, nooses were found hung from the tree, an act that escalated racial tensions.
A series of racial confrontations and altercations ensued, including an attack with a beer bottle and the brandishing of a shotgun, and culminated in a beating in December in which six black youths ganged up on a white student. None of the white students involved in the earlier fracases were hit with any serious charges. But the official response to the last beating was to treat the black teens as adults and charge them with attempted murder -- their sneakers were deadly weapons, was the theory -- which critics argue was an overzealous response born of racism.
Last Friday, a Louisiana appeals court overturned the aggravated second-degree battery conviction of one of the teens on the grounds that he had been improperly charged as an adult, seeming to validate the critics’ complaints.
Hillary Clinton addressed the case directly Monday in a speech before the Charleston, S.C., NAACP, calling for a federal investigation into the legal treatment of the Jena Six. Barack Obama also criticized the legal proceedings, but apparently not strongly enough for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who, although he has endorsed Obama, reportedly described him as ‘acting like he’s white.’ John Edwards spoke out on the case this morning. It’s unclear whether Bill Richardson has made any statements about the case.
But with Clinton and Obama vying for the support of African American voters -- a key party demographic -- this is a story that could well resonate deep into the primary calendar. Not to mention the legal calendar.
-- Scott Martelle
