Have You Heard of The Jena Six?
by Molly McCallAug 31, 2007
Last Fall, two black students at a predominantly white high school in Jena, Louisiana sat under the "whites-only" tree during lunch. The next day, three nooses swung from the tree's branches.
What happened since has roiled the small Southern town and sparked a string of racial harassment and violence. A white teen landed in the emergency room, a black teen landed in jail, and five other black students are awaiting trial—and possibly facing decades of imprisonment.
The national media has yet to pick up on this woeful tale. But the Web is tracking the story vigilantly. Searches for "jena 6" rose 7,557% over the past month. Queries such as "jena la," "jena 6 case," "jena high school," and "jena louisiana racism" have surged. Interest in Mychal Bell, the convicted student, leapt 171% last week.
Bloggers have covered this story from the beginning. And searchers, primarily from the South, have pursued it online. Will the national media eventually respond? According to one site, there is an interested party. Her name is Oprah. If that happens, the rest are sure to follow.
