Jena Videos – Race, Politics, Justice

The Jena Six protest happened on September 20, 2007. The Jena Six had been charged after a December 2006 fight. In this blog I’ve collected links to some videos, images, and retrospectives about the case. I expect to return to this site to edit it to make it more organized. I am in the process of completing a manuscript for the Cambridge Elements series about this protest.

Videos, Images, and Writing About the September 20 Protest

A retrospective about experiences is at https://chimesnewspaper.com/628/news/student-protests-for-justice-in-jena-6-case/ The image below is from the linked article. caption in article; Demonstrators in Jena, La. begin Thursday’s rally in unison, chanting, “We fired up, can’t take no more!” Protesters wore black shirts to the Sept. 20 demonstration, originally set to coincide with the sentencing date of Mychal Bell, one teen they say was jailed unjustly.

Photo courtesy of Photo by Brittney Walker

An NPR photo essay that is mostly pictures of the people involved in the case, not the protest https://www.npr.org/sections/newsandviews/2007/09/the_jena_6_in_photos.html

A retrospective essay five years later https://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-jena-6-rally-5-years-later.html That links to an essay written at the time https://lasentinel.net/l-a-demands-justice-for-jena-6.html

Picture from https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2019/01/25/blood-root-revisits-turbulent-emotions-jena-six-story/2636647002/ caption: Alyse Stukey, right, of Virginia Beach, Va., stands at the site of where an oak tree once stood that is at the center of a civil rights issue during a rally at Jena High School in Louisiana on Sept. 20, 2007. Thousands of chanting demonstrators filled the streets of teh Louisiana town in support of six black teenagers initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate. Sharon Steinmann, Houston Chronicle.

Protest image reprinted in a later story. Credit is AP Alex Brandon. caption: Protests against the charges filed against six African American high school students included this one on Sept. 20, 2007. Radio personality Michael Baisden, fourth from left, walks with Rev. Al Sharpton, center, and Melissa Bell, mother of Mychal Bell, during a march in Jena, La. https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1000w,f_auto,q_auto:best/ap/69d6fa80-0c97-40b7-a037-71f4855f0274.jpg

Photos supplied by Aisha Upton-Azzam, a sociologist who attended the Jena protest when she was 19, coming from Chicago on a bus after her grandmother learned about the protest on Facebook and paid for Aisha’s ticket. The bus traveled 15 hours each way from Chicago. Protesters slept on the bus and ate at rest stops.

Image of protest posted at https://marxist.com/black-struggle-and-socialist-revolution.htm no photo credit given

The crowd marches through Jena, La., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, in support of six black teenagers initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of Justin Barker, a white classmate. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

photo from Whudat.com https://www.whudat.com/newsblurbs/more/jena_6_mychal_bell_sentenced_to_18_months_violating_probation_1681012073

Videos about the protest

This one was put together by Baton Rouge attendees. 7 minutes of photo and video montage that gives a feeling for the whole rally. They also invoke faith in God.

Videos About the Protest

Art Fennell gives a news account live from the protest. It begins with pre-rally coverage. Then an overview of the case, running a video earlier created about the whole case. The video shows pictures of injured Barker but also says the usual punishment for fighting at school would be a three day suspension. Emphasizes the unfair punishment. Also includes quotations from Barker’s parents. Part 1 is 9 nine minutes.

part 2 of the same video. Refers to where others were from on the plane he took to the area. Reporter Jam Sardar rode a bus from Philadelphia. Emphasizing the efforts it takes to take the buses. Interviews with attendees. Emphasizing the enthusiasm and broad support. “This is a prideful event just as much as a march for social justice.” Interviews with attendees. This part almost 10 minutes.

Jena 6 video

The Jena 6, a video directed by Kouross Esmaeli and Jacqueline Soohan and Richard Rowley. Narrated by Mumia Abu Jamal. 29 minutes. Available from several outlets, listed below. The embedded video is the trailer. It covers the background of the case and also shows footage of local organizing including small local protests and the visit of King Downing (of ACLU). Also includes footage of the September 20 protest. Ends in late September, 2007, Mychal Bell still incarcerated, being re-tried. Towards the end “North and South, we all live in Jena.” Emphasizes this is not just one town. “You know what it is to be Black now.”

Ways to access the full video

https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-jena-6 via Alexanderstreet (available through libraries)
https://www.amazon.com/Jena-6-Rick-Rowley/dp/B0DH1514TR/ for sale or rent from Amazon Prime
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1702397/ IMDB listing
YouTube
- part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qixpTHNOapw
- part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1jZNNw61Ko
- part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS6FHzTC0RE

Democracy Now Coverage of the case

This is a copy of the Democracy Now video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6G47cTLllg

News coverage of the September 20 rally

This five-minute video is an interview with Tina Jones, the mother of Carwin Jones, who is standing next to her but not speaking, on advice of his attorneys.

A 2 minute video that features a small march in what appears to be Southern California.

A 12 minute documentary video that begins with the protest and uses news montage to recap the case. Short documentary recap with some of the key footage. Treats the September 20 event as past, includes footage of criticisms of Black federal investigator Washington. Footage of people boarding buses to Jena. Good footage of the protest and interviews with participants. Treats the rally as a renewal of the movement. Ends noting the planned White supremacist rally in Jena on MLK day in 2008. Posted to YouTube in 2011.

Two minutes of mainstream Associated Press news coverage of the protest posted September 20.

Nine minutes “Racist Revenge in Jena”. This is about the drug raid in Jena in July 2009 with claims that this raid on Black residents was retaliation for the big Jena protest. References the Tulia Texas case in which innocent people were prosecuted, people may plead guilty when they see no way out.. Claims that SWAT teams are the new lynching. Says that the Jena campaign left the power structure intact.