we interrupt this series of ramadan human rights actions for this poignant and current message...today, thousands of activists will rally in jena, louisiana...they’ll be supporting the so-called "jena six,"...you can support them too, by demanding that the justice department review their case...the jena six are african-american high school students who, after a fight last december in which a white student was hurt, were arrested and charged--five of them with attempted murder...although justin barker, the white student injured in the altercation, was hurt badly enough to go to the hospital, he attended a school function later that evening...
the fight occurred during a period of high racial tension in the community, prompted by an incident in which several black students sat under a tree that's traditionally "whites only,"..the next day, three nooses were hanging from it...
in case you're not from the southern united states, that, represents to me, a lifelong white southerner, symbolic terrorism...
some of the charges were reduced, from attempted murder to aggravated battery...but that's still a crime that could land a seventeen-year-old in jail for fifteen years...there's good reason to think that the charges in the case are disproportionate, and reflect a pattern of unequal treatment of black and white youths in the area...please urge the justice department to investigate...
human rights don't start at the water's edge--there's urgent work to be done here at home...as always, thank you for raising your voice...
peace out <3
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