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Ralph E Smith- Publisher
Jena6 News Interviews: The Journey To Jena,La TIME TO STAND
Stay Tuned into our online production: We will be talking with members of bus 355 from Harlem, people in Jena, La to find out what they think about this case and what should the next action be.
September 22, 2007: by Ralph E. Smith Guardian Chronicle:
Mychal Bell, 17 Bail Denied! Bell has been in jail since last December. No charges against the white youth. National protests around the United States with a focus on Jena Town Justice.
"This is why we did not cancel the march," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, an organizer of Thursday's rally along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the NAACP. "When they overturned Mychal's conviction, everyone said we won."
All charges against the 6 African American boys in this case need to be dropped. There never should have been a WHITE ONLY TREE ON SCHOOL GROUND OR ON ANY GROUND IN AMERICA. When you hang nooses on trees, get ready for the town and a nation of concerned Americans to Stand Up and Fight. Time for the FBI to come into Jena and clean up the local justice and school system. Black People (African Americans) say Never Again! American People say Never again!
Time for the United States President Bush who stated he is sad to address the injustice in Jena, La. President Bush, the American people need you sir to deal with the terror in Jena, La!
This march in Jena, La was not about a vacation to visit the south. As one rider on my bus from Harlem stated, "Smithy, they the people that did this should get an award because they woke up a sleeping giant. It takes something like this to bring the people together."
The confederate flag was flying at a business just miles before Jena, La. Yes, there is a big problem in this part of America. When I saw this five foot flag of hate flying next to the American Flag through the bus window, I said to myself, I must continue to support the Jena6.
This week, you will hear and see more interviews with the 41 people from Harlem Bus$255: The Journey To Jena, La. This was rough trip. The A.C was broken, instead of 22 hours, it took us 29 hours, and the bathroom was on overload, but the people stayed focused on the mission of support for the Jena6.
PHOTOS FROM JENA, LA PROTEST MOVEMENT:
TO THE GREAT PEOPLE WE MET IN JENA, La: Check Back During The Week To Download Your Photos: Photos of Struggle For Justice in Jena, La
Listen to 98.7KissFM in New York September 23, 2007 at 10:00am for more information on the Jena6 Movement For Justice.
SUPPORT THE JENA6
WEAR BLACK-WRITE LETTERS- GET ON THE BUS
DATE: Thursday September 20, 2007
TIME: Peace & Protest Rally at 8:00am
SENTENCING: 9:00am for student Mychal Bell
Sign Up For Your Bus Today New York!
GUARDIAN CHRONICLE SUPPORTS THE JENA6
1440 MILES NYC TO JENA, LA
GOD AND THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE WILL MAKE A WAY
TO STAND UP AND PROVIDE SUPPORT
WE NEED NYS/ NYC GUARDIANS ON THE BUS
Correction, Court,Police, Fire, Teachers
98/7KISS FM
INFORMATION
LaSalle Parish Courthouse
1050 Courthouse St
Jena, LA 71342
(25 minutes from Alexandria)
September 22, 2007: PASTOR NATHANIEL WHITE HIGHER CALL DELIVERANCE TABERNACLE 695 East Gunhill Road Bronx, NY (646) 244-6108
My view point of JENA6: A very positive out pouring of Blacks from around the country in response to our brothers and sisters in Jena, La who shot an S.O.S. for help. This part of history brought a tear to my eye as I saw our brothers and sisters marching singing various Negro spiritual church songs our mothers and fathers did as they fought for our rights we have today. The fight is not complete and we are still need to keep pressing on. I was very proud of people for there were many that thought there would be many arrests and the national guard called, but we as a people showed the world we mean business. For I know in my heart on the next call out it maybe the world shall be on standby. But most of all I thank GOD for keeping our people save and sound. Peace Brother Ralph E Smith and continue to do the work that you have been call to do. Pastor Nathaniel White Jr. |
Frederick Douglass "If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
GUARDIAN CHRONICLE.COM
Mr. Ralph E. Smith: Thank You For Coming to Jena , La
October 15, 2007
Hello again. How have you been since we last spoke? Everything here is wonderful!! It was a pleasure to have met you and talk with you about the situation in Jena, LA. I will sure enough keep in contact with you and give you the lastest news. My brother DeLanius says hello also. I hope that you remember us.
God bless you and have a great day!!!
"Suga N Spice" Photography
Valarie N. Rodgers
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
suga0730@bellsouth.net
www.myspace.com/suga0730
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK FROM ED
Keep up the great work Ralph, I am proud to have worked with you. You took the chronicle to a level that is amazing. Keep doing what you do best, informing the people about the real issues that affect our communities.
STRUGGLE CONTINUES.
Ed
Mychal Bell of 'Jena 6' released on bail
September 27, 2007
CNN Report
(CNN) -- Mychal Bell, a black teenager accused of beating a white classmate and who was the last of the "Jena 6" behind bars, was released from custody Thursday after a juvenile court judge set his bail at $45,000.
Supporters surround Mychal Bell on Thursday after his release at the LaSalle Parish courthouse.
Bell's release followed an announcement from LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, who said he would not appeal a higher court's decision moving Bell's case to juvenile court.
Wearing a blue striped golf shirt and jeans, Bell walked out of the LaSalle Parish courthouse a week after an estimated 15,000-plus demonstrators marched through Jena -- a town of about 3,000 -- to protest local authorities' handling of the teens' case.
"We do not condone violence of any kind, but we ask that people be given a fair and even chance at the bar of justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton said outside the courthouse.
"Tonight, Mychal can go home, but Mychal is not out of the juvenile process. He goes home because a lot of people left their home and stood up for him," he said.
"Let America know -- we are not fighting for the right to fight in school. We're not fighting for the right for kids to beat each other. We're fighting to say that there must be one level of justice for everybody. And you cannot have adult attempted murder for some, and a fine for others, and call that equal protection under the law. Two wrongs don't make one civil right."
Don't Miss
* In Depth: The 'Jena 6'
* Thousands 'march for justice' in Jena
* U.S. attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related
* FBI investigates supremacist anti-'Jena 6' Web site
Demonstrators at last week's march were protesting how authorities handled the cases of Bell and five other teens accused of beating fellow student Justin Barker.
Many said they were angry that the students, dubbed the Jena 6, were being treated more harshly than three white students who hung nooses from an oak tree on Jena High School property.
The white students were suspended from school but did not face criminal charges. The protesters said they should have been charged with a hate crime.
Bell's attorney Lewis Scott said the teen was moved from jail to a juvenile facility earlier Thursday.
Walters said his decision not to appeal was based on what he believed was best for the victim in the case.
"While I believe that a review would have merit ... I believe it is in the best interest of the victim and his family not to delay this matter any further and move it to its conclusion," Walters told reporters. Video Watch the Rev. Al Sharpton discuss the teen's release »
He said last week's march, which included Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, did not influence his decision.
Bell, now 17, was the only one of the Jena 6 behind bars. His bond previously was set at $90,000.
A district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in juvenile court. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, did the same with Bell's battery conviction in mid-September.
Prosecutors originally charged all six black students accused of being involved in beating Barker with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy. Walters reduced charges against at least four of them -- Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw -- to battery and conspiracy.
Bryant Purvis awaits arraignment. Charges against Jesse Ray Beard, who was 14 at the time of the alleged crime, are unavailable because he's a juvenile.
Wednesday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced that Louisiana State Police officers will protect the families of the Jena 6 and investigate any threats they have received. A white supremacist Web site posted the names and addresses of the six black teens after last week's march, calling on followers to "let them know justice is coming."
Thursday, the FBI said it had been made aware of allegations of threats.
"Threats are taken seriously, and as these investigations are ongoing we cannot comment further," said Sheila Thorne of the FBI's office in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The December 4 attack on Barker came after months of racial tension, including at least two instances of fighting in the town, sparked originally when three white teens hung the nooses.
Walters has said there was no direct link between the hanging of the nooses and the schoolyard attack, and defended the prosecutions ahead of last Thursday's peaceful march. Blanco defended the prosecutor Wednesday, saying, "He has a solid record and is highly respected among his peers."
Walters also addressed the stress and notoriety the town has been subjected to, saying the only way he and other residents "have been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community."
He also suggested that some kind of "disaster" was averted when thousands of marchers came to Jena last week.
"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," Walters said.
"The Lord Jesus Christ put his influence on those people, and they responded accordingly," he said, without explaining exactly what he meant.
Soon after the district attorney spoke, a local reverend took issue with his comments.
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"Obviously, we are serving two different gods here," the Rev. Donald Sidley said. "My Bible says that we should do -- we should be loving, love your neighbor as yourself.
"For him to try and separate the community like he is and then using Christ Jesus to influence the people that Jesus is working on their side, well, that's -- that's absurd. ... God is god of the human race," said Sidley, of the New Evergreen Church. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend