Posted Sept. 25, 2007 – As reports of racist acts pour in throughout the South in reaction to last week’s rally in Jena, La.,, the Rev. Jesse Jackson says it’s time for the president of the United States to stand up for justice.
"People who believe this way are armed legally to do battle with Black people and the government. So, people should be aware of this real danger," Jackson said at a news conference at a Chicago church. "There's an urgency in Jena. We need the president of the United States...We need the Department of Justice to intervene before it escalates."
As BET.com reported Monday, law enforcement officials in North Carolina and Louisiana are investigating a series of threats and acts of intimidation against African Americans, including the six Black teens, known as the “Jena 6,” for whom the march and rally was held.
According to civil rights leaders such as Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, the prosecution of the “Jena 6” is just another example of numerous cases in which African-American young people are being charged far too harshly for their alleged crimes. They point to young Black men like Genarlow Wilson, the 17-year-old Black student from Georgia who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for allowing a 15-year-old classmate perform oral sex on him at a party.
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