Jena 6 Demonstrations

The rallies and demonstrations that emerged in response to the highly contested charges of Mychal Bell as an adult were largely successful in bringing their demands for accountability and truth to the justice system. While the Jena 6 events and court proceedings have been, and remain, a hot bed of racial tensions, the tens of thousands of demonstrators who converged on Jena, LA in September were participating in a nonviolent demonstration that was reminiscent of the Civil Rights Marches of the 1960s.

Unfortunately, the marches then and the marches now have still been unable to produce the kind of systemic change needed to equalize treacherously unfair racial attitudes and practices in many of the U.S.'s social institutions, particularly the justice system. Perhaps the racist attitudes and assumptions of the justice system as it pertains to Black Americans is best illustrated by Reed Walters, District Attorney, speaking about the nonviolent rallies of thousands of primarily Black American activists: "I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that."

In response to Reed Walter's racist and "religious" comments, Jena minister Rev. Donald Sibley: "I think it's a shame for you to say only Jesus Christ caused what happened there last Thursday. I think it was behavior of 30,000 people." Sibley told CNN, "I can't diminish Christ at all, but for [Walters] to use it in the sense that because his Christ, his Jesus, because he prayed, because of his police, that everything was peaceful and was decent and in order—that's just not the truth."

Walters defended himself: "What I'm saying is, the Lord Jesus Christ put his influence on those people, and they responded accordingly."

The assumption that Walters holds is that Black people are violent. This racist understanding and expectation of a primarily Black demonstration to turn violent reveals Walter's own racialized tendencies based on past stereotypes of Blacks being "uncontrollable" or "animals."

When the demonstrators consciously choose to act in a nonviolent manner, Walter's own worldview is confronted with a new reality. Walter's justifies it to himself as "divine intervention" as being the only thing that stopped the otherwise imminent violence.

This is precisely what nonviolence strives to do...challenge the realities of injustice and force those in the position of power to act in a new way. While Walter's comments still reflect his racist attitudes, had the demonstration turned violent, Walter's attitudes would have been further solidified. And then Walters's police could have responded through the customary violence typical in enforcing the law. At least in this way, the nonviolent nature of the demonstration brought about a disconnect that Walters's had to force himself to explain away - through religious beliefs. Yet once those religious beliefs are forced to be explained away, then there exists one less explanation for why, according to Walters, Blacks are violent.

Nonviolence exposes the realities of people attitudes by forcing the aggressor to recognize the dignity and humanity of the oppressed or the other. Walters may still be a racist with power in an unfair racialized justice structure, but through nonviolent action the demands of the people were heard, Bell's charges were dropped to that of a juvenile and released on bail, and the irrational nature of Walters's and the justice system's racism was exposed .


sourced from the AP News Report, see it here for more information:
Jena 6 Defendant Released on Bail