A tree. A noose. The American South. If that doesn’t conjure notes of that old Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit,” I don’t know what would. Let’s also add “Playground fights and Sentencing disparities” to the above images, just to move us into the 21st century…
In case you haven’t heard of the Jena 6, take a look. While there’s a lot of analysis to do, and many in the blogosphere have deepened our understanding of the intersections of American justice, racism, and historical oppression surrounding this case, it has not – ta da! – received attention in the mainstream media, especially not on TV, where most Americans get their news. The only intelligent, caustic criticism I’ve heard has been from Mos Def and Dr. West last week on Bill Maher. (Note Bill’s quotation, “White America does not know this story.” Yet another case of stating the obvious.)
There’s a rally down in Jena on Sept. 20th, with Mos Def, NAACP members, and others. People all over the country will be wearing black in solidarity.
Sign the petition at COLOROFCHANGE
1 response so far ↓
Bob // September 25, 2007 at 6:43 pm |
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/opinion/24krugman.html
Paul Krugman does a good job of relating the Jena Six and the environment that fostered injustice there to nationwide racial politics. Krugman notes that Republican gains in national politics since the 1970’s can be attributed largely to their efforts to provide a home for racist Southern whites in the GOP. Let’s hope he’s right that Republicans who turn a blind eye to (or give a wink towards) racism will begin to feel a backlash for the practice in coming elections, and moreso that such a backlash will begin to change such practices where the reasons of morality and justice have failed.