MU students march in Jena, La.

By Roseann Moring and Robby Lewis, Of The Maneater Staff
Sept. 21, 2007

JENA, La. — MU sophomore Dave Engelkenjohn has a fair amount of experience with peaceful protest. He participated in about 20 protests before coming to MU, so it was not a departure for him when he decided to go to Louisiana on Thursday to participate in a rally for six high school students charged with attempted second-degree murder.

He and a few other MU students joined more than 40,000 other protestors in a march in the small town of Jena, population 3,000.

The march ensued after six black high school students, known as the Jena Six, faced charges of attempted second-degree murder after a fight with a white high school student.

The incident was sparked by a series of events that started when a black student sat under a tree that was considered a "white-only" area. The next day, three nooses were found hanging from the same tree. School officials have since cut down the tree where the incident took place.

The superintendent gave the three white students a three-day, in-school suspension. A few days later, many black students sat under the tree in protest, and the district attorney was called to speak to the students. On Nov. 30, a fire burned down part of the high school. Those responsible have not been caught.

The tension culminated on Dec. 4, 2006, when six black students at the high school assaulted a white student, knocking him unconscious. It has been reported that the victim, Justin Barker, attended an event later that night.

The six students, who were christened the "Jena Six" by the media, were arrested, expelled from school and charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

The district attorney lowered the charges to aggravated battery for Mychal Bell, the first of the six to be tried. He was convicted in June, but the court has twice thrown out sentence. He is still being held in jail while the prosecutors appeal the case.

Engelkenjohn, along with MU students Jack Buthod and Carly Rexroad and their friend Seth Stearns, drove to Jena for the protest.

At the rally, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, spoke about the importance of peaceful protest. He said the injustice in Jena was the beginning of the 21st century civil rights movement.

"Before, we had to fight for how we sit on the bus," Sharpton said. "Now, we have to fight for how we sit in the court. We're going from the plantations to the penitentiaries."

Engelkenjohn said he had questions about what Sharpton had to say.

"I really like what Al Sharpton had to say, but I'm not sure he was sincere," Engelkenjohn said.

After Sharpton's speech, Michael Baisden, a nationwide radio personality, said the issue in Jena was a moral rather than racial issue. He advocated the pursuit of justice through "any means necessary," and the crowd turned the phrase into a chant.

Baisden also criticized the lack of media coverage the issue has received. He said the only media coverage black people have recently received have been O.J. Simpson's and Michael Vick's run-ins with the law.

People came from across the country to attend the rally. Several national organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Black Men 7, Nation of Islam, New Afrikan People's Organization and the Six Gear Motorcycle Club of Missouri came in support of the rally.

Clifton Lemelle of Eunice, La., is a member of the NAACP and Black Men 7 and has been involved in high school education in Louisiana for more than 30 years.

"In America, the color of your skin plays more of a role in the respectability of people," Lemelle said. "It's not as heavy anywhere else."

Black Men 7 identify themselves as the "new Black Panthers," member James Benoit said.

New Afrikan People's Organization has an "active" approach to racism and espouses the views of Malcolm X, Chairman Chokwe Lumumba said.

"They said we couldn't sit on it, but we're here to stand on this tree," he said while standing on the spot the tree had stood at the high school.

Lumumba said there is a history of racism in that area. He compared the Jena Six trials to the conviction of Rodarius Stewart, a man who was convicted of homicide in Corinth, Miss., after a white mob attacked him and a member of the mob was killed.

"This is the place where white supremacy has come out in 2007," Lumumba said.

Shortly after Sharpton's speech, most of the crowd left for a mile-and-a-half march that went past the high school to Jena City Park.

Sharpton led the mass of thousands of almost exclusively black marchers for part of the way. The crowd chanted and held signs, and some encouraged children to join the chanting.

Engelkenjohn, Rexroad, Buthod and Stearns were some of the only white people at the march. They said people thanked them for attending and many even asked to take pictures of the four in their black MU T-shirts.

"It shows who cares," Dallas native Linda Heflin said of the lack of white marchers.

One white Jena resident, Michelle Neil, stood in front of her lawn and pushed marchers off it.

"They're violating my rights to property," she said.

When a few marchers stopped to argue with her, another marcher told them to "keep walking" and suggested they respect her property.

Neil said she does not support the march.

"We're not a racist town," she said. "If you want to let a criminal out, go right ahead."

But other residents, such as Sheryl Ross, said racism is a problem in the community. Ross is a black mother of a high school student who attends a different high school in the area.

McLeary said there were no counter-protest groups and many businesses closed because of the protest, but he could not elaborate why.

The Louisiana State Police, Jena Police Department and internal marshals for each group went to the rally to keep the peace, said Lt. Lawrence McLeary, spokesman for the Louisiana State Police.

Donnell Young, Student Life judicial coordinator and Legion of Black Collegians adviser, said it is important that students participate in events such as this.

"Some college students don't understand how much power they have," he said. "I love it when students do research and fight for things they believe in."

Young said racism is an issue that also affects Missouri.

"This is an issue that really hits home with me," he said. "It may not be nooses, but racism in Columbia still exists."

He said he was happy to see not just minority students attending to the protest.

"I'm just glad students in all walks of life are locking arms," he said.

Share on Facebook

MU students march in Jena, La.

More Sept. 21, 2007 News Stories

Most recent News Stories