There's so much to say about the historic Jena 6 Rally. It was a beautiful and inspiring thing. It was overwhelming to see so many people come out, especially young people from the so called Hip Hop Generation. Folks came from all over, many of them driving thousands of miles. My good brother DJ Paradise of the legendary group X-Clan captures a lot of what went down in his blog entry below.

It was good to see Hip Hop in the building. No 50 and Kanye didn't show, but Mos Def was there. Bun B from UGK was there, Ice Cube was there, Salt-n-Pepa was there, Sway from MTV was there, The Hip Hop Political Convention was there and scores of local artists independent artists from all over the country. Of course there was Jasiri X out of Pittsburgh's One Hood who put together the song 'Free the Jena 6'. Right now he is back in the studio with Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers and NY Oil doing a remix.

However, Mos Def in our interview with DJ Chela expressed disappointment, because he expected to see and hear more from his more visible colleagues. He explained that he's in the middle of shooting a movie and recording an album, but saw the Jena 6 issue to be too important to miss. He had to be there on hand especially since there were so many poor and working class people who showed up.

With so many poor and working class Blacks who have little means showing up in Jena the Diddys and Jay-Zs should've ideally been on hand or at the very least using their platforms to speak about this issue. But the success of Jena does not rest and should not rest on the presence of corporate backed artists. The people came in large numbers and took a strong stand on a hot day in the south in September. As you read the rest of this and listen to the audio, I want people to keep a few things in mind.

First, cell phone service in Jena was cut off the day of the rally. The excuse given was the cell towers were 'overloaded'. We think not. It seemed quite deliberate and served the purpose of preventing folks from communicating with one another. It showed me just how dependent we are on modern technological tools like the Internet and cell phones and how we can quickly be crippled should someone in a position of power decide to flip the switch.

People like myself and other journalists were not able call in our news reports to radio stations and other media outlets. Organizers were not able to text one another to co-ordinate during the rally. We should be aware that jamming cell phones and shutting off other modes of communication like the Internet will be a way to stifle our movement. Another thing to note is that residents in Jena suddenly had their cable disrupted. Hence they weren't able to see the coverage from CNN and other media outlets that had descended on Jena. This needs to be investigated.

The other thing that was not reported was the number of buses and other vehicles prevented from coming into the city. More than 120 buses along with other vehicles were pulled over and kept at the side of the road about 20 miles outside of Jena for more than 2 hours. Cars with out of state plates were pulled over by Louisiana State Troopers that were posted on every exit and entrance between Jena and Alexandria which is an hour away. The police definitely were going after folks when they could get away with it...One beautiful moment was seeing when the New Black Panther Party went to speak in front of the courthouse and how the state troopers tried to surround them as if to make them stop. The brothers turned around faced the cops and held their ground while they went ahead and did an impromptu rally that lasted for a good 40 minutes.

Lastly a question that got raised was where were the white progressives who show up in mass at Anti-War Rallies and other causes? The large numbers of Black folks that showed up to Jena was due in part to people like Michael Baisden wisely using his syndicated radio show to talk about key issues and not nonsense like Kanye vs 50 or OJ. This in turn led to other Black talk shows to follow suit. Heck even Hot 97 in NY got on board and had on air discussions. We should be giving praise and asking for more of this type of on air activism. Again props to Michael Baisden and others who decided to use those airwaves in a good way.

One glaring omission at Jena was the Progressive white community. With so many Black people coming to Jena, think of how powerful it would've been had those white progressive that routinely listen to shows like Democracy Now , NPR and other alternative outlets where the Jena issue and the upcoming rally was discussed daily had also saw fit to show and take a strong stand against racism. It was a missed opportunity to see people from all races come together and take strong stance against the insidious racism in Jena. People need to keep in mind even though we came down in large numbers you still had white boys driving around with confederate flags and nooses in the back of their trucks.

Prior to the march you had rumors of the Klan showing up. A group of brothers from St. Louis showed up calling themselves the KKK Killers. They got wind of the Klan stories and were ready to go at it with them had they shown. They raised the issue as well about the progressive left being absent from this event. They held a noose around a Black man to show what historically went on in the south and still goes on. They also held a noose around some stuffed dogs and noted that there are many in this country who care more about the mis- treatment of dogs versus the mis-treatment of people. As one young brother rhetorically put it as he raised this issue 'I want answers from A.N.S.W.E.R. why weren't you here today in Jena?'.

On a related note, where the hell was Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama Apparently none of those cowardly presidential candidates saw fit to come to Jena? Perhaps they find some gumption and use their Senatorial powers to call for an investigation and bring about some Justice.

In conclusion the key to Jena will be the follow up. It will be up to us to write letters we write and make phone calls to Congress demanding an investigation. It will mean us sending money to the families. It will mean us making phone calls to 'Democratic' Governor Blanco demanding Mychael Bell be set free and charges dropped against the Jena 6.

Davey D

http://www.switchpod.com/users/mrdaveyd/JenasoundsfromJena.mp3

Click HERE to Listen to Jena 6 Rally Interviews and Speeches

Observations About Jena
by DJ Paradise of X-Clan

On the night of September 18th, 2007, a mini-van carrying 6 diverse people left Pittsburgh, PA. Forgetting about their own individual struggles, banding together to travel to Jena, Louisiana to fight a common fight against oppression for The Jena 6 and for the freedom of 17 year old Mychal Bell.

Traveling 1,100 miles across many places with the same names as the one's traveled by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the "Freedom Riders". Without the fear of being stopped by racist sheriffs accompanied by KKK members in pickup trucks brandishing shot-guns, there was still an uneasy feeling and keen awareness of what was faced by many brave souls who traveled these dark unlit roads in search of "Freedom, Justice and Equality" decades before us as we passed through Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Listening the the radio and reading every newspaper from Pittsburgh to Jena. It seems to us that the masses of white people across America are in denial. They seem to believe that America is over racism, it just flat out does not exist according to many of them. In spite of the statistics for incarceration, housing, economics, education and unemployment. The excuses that many white people believe are responsible for so called African-Americans not doing well are lame and racist in themselves. The sad truth is that there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of towns like Jena, Louisiana out there, in denial, bubbling, waiting to blow!

We arrived in Jena on the night of September 19th to check out the area so that we would have a feel of what we were riding into the next day. Things were very quite except for a few driveways full of pickup trucks at the homes of some white residents who I imagine had gathered to discuss the next days events.

Jena, Louisianan is a isolated community between 127 (West) and 8 (East), either way it's a long lonely ride into Jena from the highway, except of course on September 20th when over 60,000 people converged on the town with a total population of 3,000. Thousands of cars and hundreds of buses from all over America jammed the roads to a stand still. We stopped at the "GOTTA GO" convenience store, the spot that a white teen pulled a shot-gun on Brian Bailey (who grabbed the weapon and ran home with it). The police charged Brian and his friends with stealing a firearm, but did not charge the teen who had pulled it
out of his pickup truck with anything.

The Nooses have been cut down, the oak tree AKA "white tree" has been cut down, (Royal Shariyf's email reminded me that: "They cut it down, but the tree didn't do anything. The tree was innocent!"), The School has been half burned down, the one thing that has been left standing tall and deeply rooted is the white supremacy that many of the black children of Jena refuse to be dominated by any more. That is the point that is being lost in all of this. I would love to have had more time to listen to the young black residents of Jena, Louisiana. I did not go to Jena to lead them, they are the leaders that I went to Jena to follow, the one's who have had enough! The one's who have heard enough talk and pretty speeches. The one's who exhibited the strength and courage of the ancestors, when they stood up in the face of incredible odds and said "NO MORE"!

They were brave in spite of the fact that they were greatly outnumbered and threatened by LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walter who said in a special assembly at Jena High School with white students at one side of the room and black students seated at the other. "I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen". (A threat that he surely aims to enforce on Mychal Bell in spite of marches, court rulings and the law).

The black children of Jena, Louisiana were threatened with nooses, a shot gun, hit with bottles and the threat of the rifle and ammo found in Justin Barker's truck on school grounds must constantly be on their minds. Somehow the only person in Jena in trouble for a weapon is Mychal Bell, his tennis shoe! Still, somehow they remained brave, and somehow DA Reed Walter and too many white residents of Jena, Louisiana continue to act as though Justin Barker is the only victim in this case.

If this is not an obvious case of systematic racism, I don't know what is, consider this:

In Jena, Louisiana: hanging nooses from trees is not a hate crime "it is a prank".

In Jena, Louisiana: pulling a shot-gun on black teenagers is not a crime, "disarming the person who pulls it on you is".

In Jena, Louisiana: a group of 6 or 7 white youths jumping a black youth is "simple battery", 6 black youths jump a white youth it is "attempted murder".

In Jena, Louisiana: a shot-gun, a rifle, a bottle, brass knuckles are not dangerous weapons, "a gym shoe is".

In Jena, Louisiana: Confederate flags are not symbols of hate or racism, "it is free speech".

In Jena, Louisiana: racism and white supremacy is not considered a crime, "fighting back is".

Overall the March in Jena was a success depending on who you ask. Personally I'm disappointed by the results. I thought that the point of the march was to "Free The Jena 6" which is more than a hot t-shirt slogan. I know that I can speak for brother Jasiri X when I say: more than "the hook to a song". 7 Organizations had separate events and no one had itinerary's or schedules. Security was unorganized which was scary as hell considering that Jena has only 2 roads in and out. And the town had cut off all cell phone communications during the march.

My Elder Sonny Carson told me long ago "Never ask for anything that you cannot take!" I can't help feeling like, "Why did we travel so far to leave Mychal Bell's mother in tears"?

Right after the march on Jena I heard from people in the crowd that Al Sharpton and Michael Baisdon were having a "Rally" in the neighboring town of Alexandria.

We had heard rumors on the way there that there was to be a town hall meeting organized by them in collaboration with th NAACP. Whatever happened, it wound up being 2 separate events and we had no idea as to where the NAACP meeting was. The decision was made easy for me as my friend Jasiri X was a guest of Michael Baisdon who had been "Banging" his song "Free The Jena 6" on his nationally syndicated show all month, plus I wanted to speak to my good Brother Al Sharpton about ways to build better bridges across the the Hip-hop generation and our Elders in the civil rights generation . I think that there was a little too much celebrating and not enough done to empower new young leadership. Leadership that sets goals, organizes, communicates and implements strategic plans nationally.

No one is above criticism, (especially myself) but to allow this energy of young black people "taking personal responsibility" in a way that I have only seen at the Million Man March (once In my life) to dissipate would truly be "Jena-cide". No one can be blamed for feeling so good about our youth after watching so many of them come out to see that their brothers get justice. And for that I thank the racists who just so happen to live amongst some fine people in Jena, Louisiana, who are so arrogant, so sure of themselves and so supreme, that they may well have just messed around and awakened a sleeping giant! And I am not even talking about the small group that went to Jena! It has been so hard for us to convince the average person on the street in America that this country is as racist as ever! Now thanks to you, everyone in the world saw those nooses (after the rally), and we heard about the ones that were hanging in the "white tree", we saw all the confederate flags too (we know exactly what all that means), y'all might have just make my job easier.

Media Literacy 101:

White residents, politicians and the media continue to paint a picture of Justin Barker as the victim in this case. However Justin Barker was not randomly picked out of a crowd and attacked for being white. He is close friends with the 3 white youths who hung the nooses in the "white tree", and he was involved in the process of continuing the oppression and intimidation of Brian Bailey who had already been jumped and hit with bottles by a gang of 6 or 7 white youths one of them a 21 year old white male and had a shot-gun pulled on him at the convenience store.

While much is being made of Mychal Bells "prior criminal history", 2 incidents of Battery and 2 charges of criminal damage to property, nothing is being said in the press about the fact that Justin Barker was arrested for possession of a firearm in a firearm-free zone after a .22 caliber rifle and bullets were found in his truck at
Jena High School on May 10, 2007 after his friend

It is not surprising to see that Mychal Bell had a prior criminal record, his friend Brian Bailey was charged with "aggravated battery, 2nd degree robbery and disturbing the peace" after wrestling a shotgun from the hands of one of 6 or seven attackers who jumped him and beat him with bottles (2 days earlier at the Fair Grounds. Only 1 person was charged with simple assault and given probation).

Contrary to reports in the press, Justin Barker was not "Brutally" beaten, his injuries are consistent with a one on one fight rather than being jumped and stomped by 6 members of a football team. In fact he was treated and released from the hospital in 2 1/2 hours and attended a social function that same night. The use of the words "Brutally beaten" is media propaganda, a mind trick that subliminally plants the image in peoples heads that the Jena 6 are "Brutes". A concept at the very foundation of White Supremacy. Dehumanization. " The Brute Caricature " http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/brute/

Brian Bailey, Mychal Bell, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, Theo Shaw and Jessie Ray Beard are the Jena 6.