on Protest and Advocacy...

We recently had a conversation on the AARoundtable (a Yahoo E-discussion group) during which the question was asked: "When will we as a community stop talking and start doing?" Almost rhetorical, it illustrated a degree of frustration with the fact that despite the presence and activity of Black Leaders and Organizations, we still seem to be sliding backwards into more hostile waters. The current resurgence of overt racism and prejudice embodied in the hanging of nooses, miscarriages of justice in the Genarlow Wilson and Jena 6 cases, and heinous acts of violence as with Megan Williams and the Dunbar Village assault made the question all the more poignant.

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Reflecting on that question brought to mind a situation from my own life that I believe to be instructive in this matter. You see, I was once deemed a gifted child. I was blessed with a better than average visual memory thereby allowing me to mentally picture and review text and documents I had previously viewed. Because of this, I was an excellent test-taker despite the fact that I never studied. It was therefore ironic that my strength created my weakness. I did just enough to pass. I never did much homework; I'd just do well on tests and quizzes and hope that I'd average out to a passing grade. But now as a grown man, I'm still saddled with a deficiency in that I never developed any study habits or skills.
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When I look at us as a community, we seem to have a strength related weakness as well. In a society where we had little real 'power', we developed a powerful and persuasive rhetoric which was designed to influence those in power to act on our behalf. We spoke, and change happened. We didn't actually 'author' the change, we didn't 'rewrite' the laws, 'appropriate' the funds, 'build' the facilities, or 'remake' the rules... We spoke; and our speech motivated others to take the practical steps involved in making change. We often mobilized through marches and protests, but even these are forms of 'speech' and 'expression'. We'd gather, march, preach, demand, and chant, and then... go home. We'd then trust that the necessary action steps, (mundane, un-emotional, and tedious) would be faithfully handled by others.
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Our earlier successes in 'speaking truth to power' have left us saddled with a deficiency. We as a community haven't developed the necessary tools or habits for change-making. We continue on in our tradition of 'speaking' the change, then waiting to see it materialize. It seems that we as a community still believe that if we speak to an forcefully to an issue, the 'righteousness' of our position will magically make a change occur. We believe that things will change for the better, simply because we've 'explained' why they should.
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Real change requires real power (The power to decree, to write policy, to create procedure, to allocate funds, to hire and fire, and/or to greenlight projects). If we don't have power than we should make it a priority to acquire power, and in the interim we should use leverage (Leverage to motivate change not because of emotion or sympathy, but because of the prospect of material consequence). If we don't have leverage we should make it a priority to gain some leverage, and in the interim we should use influence (Again this is influence not based on sympathy or emotion, but rather on our ability to 'transfer' our world-view and/or perspective to others and have them internalize those views as their own). If we don't have influence we should make it a priority to build and increase our influence and in the interim we're left with pressure/speech, both of which are dependant upon emotion and sympathy.
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To develop a community of change-agents will require a movement of sorts. This is largely uncharted territory for us and it doesn't look or feel like the activism we've become accustomed to. This will require a new type and method of activism. And it is precisely for that reason, I don't believe the way forward will initially be traveled en mass. I believe that those who are so motivated have to work deliberately to develop the skills and capacity to make change, and we have to demonstrate those skills as we go (kind of like a community OJT). Gradually, I believe, as laws are rewritten, policies amended, and institutions changed, we can and will develop the momentum to truly reinvent the movement. Hopefully then, the question will have answered itself...

KM

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"It's not just Jena": a message from NAACP Interim President Dennis Courtland Hayes

NAACP Interim President & CEO

Dennis Courtland Hayes

Dear Community Supporters,

Just a few weeks ago now, hundreds of thousands of supporters like you banded together to call for justice for the Jena 6. Because of our outcry, all eyes are on Jena. These six young men still face prosecution by a DA who has taken it on himself to administer two systems of justice - one for blacks and one for whites. The legal battle there is clearly far from over, but the NAACP will be there all the way.

And while the situation in Jena has captured the country's attention, it is by no means an isolated incident. The case reflects a disturbing national trend involving disparate, and often violent, treatment of African American youth in the criminal justice system.

In Tallahasee, Florida 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson died while in the custody at the Bay County Boot Camp last year. On October 12 an all white jury acquitted deputies and a nurse who participated in the videotaped violent abuse that resulted in his death...

...15- year old Shelwanda Riley was thrown around, punched and pepper sprayed by a Ft. Pierce, Florida police officer, a man roughly twice her size, as he tried to arrest her for a non-violent curfew violation...

...Isaiah Simmons, 17, died after struggling with five adult staff of the Bowling Brook Preparatory School, a privately run residential program under contract with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. Witnesses said the staffers sat on the boy's limbs, chest and head. He was then restrained for three hours. The state medical examiner ruled his death a homicide...

...Videotape showed Donovan Jackson-Chavis, 16, being slammed to the ground, tossed into the air, bounced on the hood of a squad car and choked by police as they handcuffed him for supposedly not dropping a bag of potato chips at a convenience store in Inglewood, California.

When the very people who are the caretakers of America's criminal justice system don't believe that all are equal under the law, it sends a message that racism and hate are acceptable. They are not. With your support, the NAACP will aggressively pursue these and hundreds of other cases of police misconduct and discrimination targeting African American youth.

We are calling on local and state authorities as well as Congress to investigate these and other incidents of abuse, and the Attorney General to mandate federal prosecution of hate crimes.
This month NAACP units across the country are holding hearings, town hall meetings, rallies and marches in their own communities to demand that African American youth are treated with the dignity and fairness that they deserve under the law.

This wave of violence and intimidation against our youth is unacceptable, it's against the law and it must end now. With your help, we'll shine a light on those who hide their racist acts behind our criminal justice system.
.

.
Sincerely,
Dennis Courtland Hayes

NAACP Interim President and CEO

Tech Tags: NAACP Jena+6 Youth Civil+Rights

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Jena 6 Forum at Wichita State University

On Wednesday, the 19th, the African American Student Association hosted a Jena 6 forum on the campus of WSU. There were approximately 70 people in attendance as the panelists discussed the situation in Jena, disparities in the Justice system, Racism and it's manifestations in our society, issues and problems here in the city of Wichita, and suggestions for things that Youth can do to become more involved.

The panelists included William Hoston; Professor of Political Science, Reverend Reuben Eckels; Pastor of New Day Christian Church, Melody McCray-Miller; Representative of the 89th House District, Kevin Myles; President of the Wichita NAACP and Political Action chair for the Kansas State NAACP, and members of the African American Student Association. The event was moderated by Ms. Aonya Kendrick of the AASA.

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NAACP officials present petitions to Louisiana Governor

September 17 , 2007 - Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Lake Charles tossed out the aggravated battery conviction of Mychal Bell Friday afternoon.

Notwithstanding, the NAACP remains committed to the defense of the young men to ensure proper treatment by the court system and protection of their rights under law.
As such, NAACP Interim President & CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes, the Louisiana State Conference of NAACP Branches, members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, the RainbowPUSH Coalition, the National Action Network will still participate in a rally and march in Jena on Thursday, Sept. 20.

To address the broader issues of eradicating racial disparities in the American criminal justice system and public schools, the NAACP will host a town hall meeting titled “Restoring the Human Right to Education: Abolishing the School to Prison Pipeline" at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Alexandria, La. at 7 p.m. Sept. 20, as part of the Louisiana State Conference of NAACP Branches’ 65th annual convention.

Due to a schedule change, NAACP officials presented petitions to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen B. Blanco earlier today at the State Capitol. The more than 60,000 signatures are a symbol of those concerned with the unequal treatment of the defendants and the disturbing climate that led to an escalation of racial tensions in the southern town.

The NAACP encourages those who cannot travel to Jena to show their solidarity for the cause by donating via the NAACP’s website, signing the online petitions there, holding prayer vigils, a moment of silence or join in the activities by viewing the rally live via streaming video—details of which can be found at: www.naacp.org

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Sen. Landrieu Calls for Reconciliation Following Dismissal of Jena 6 Conviction and Requests Justice Dept. Review

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D- La., called for reconciliation and clarity on Friday in the case of six African-American high school students accused of assaulting a white classmate following months of racially motivated incidents at their Jena, Louisiana, high school. The June conviction of one of the students, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, on a reduced charge of aggravated assault was earlier this afternoon overturned by the Louisiana Court of Appeals.

"There remains unsettled allegations of unfair treatment of those indicted," Sen. Landrieu wrote in a letter today to the U.S. Department of Justice. "These allegations have divided the community and caused concern throughout Louisiana and the country."

"I believe that the charges and counter-charges have left everyone unsure and uneasy. In order to attain real reconciliation in Jena, we need to bring clarity to the facts of these allegations and to the handling of all events leading up to the assault. I believe it is appropriate for the Department of Justice to conduct a thorough review of these cases and establish a comprehensive public record of the facts. It is vital for the people of Jena, my state and our nation to have full confidence that justice has been served in this matter."

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Jena 6 Update: Mychal Bell's Conviction Overturned!

JENA, La. - A state appeals court Friday tossed out the aggravated battery conviction that could have sent a black teenager to prison for 15 years in last year's beating of a white classmate in the racially tense Louisiana town of Jena.

Mychal Bell, who was 16 at the time of the December beating, should not have been tried as an adult on the battery charge, the state Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles ruled.
Bell is one of six black Jena High School students charged in an attack on fellow student Justin Barker, and one of five originally charged as adults with attempted second-degree murder.

The charges brought widespread criticism that blacks were being treated more harshly than whites after racial confrontations and fights at their school.

Attorney Louis Scott of Monroe said he didn't know whether Bell, whose bond was set at $90,000, would get out of jail immediately.

"It means that at the present time all charges are dismissed," Scott said. "But we don't know what approach the prosecution is going to take — whether they will re-charge him, where he would have to be subjected to bail all over again or not. "We're working on that right now," he said.

Rally for 'Jena Six' planned
Bell was to be sentenced Thursday in a case that has brought international attention to Jena. Civil rights leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have been planning a rally in support of the teens that day.

"Although there will not be a court hearing, we still intend to have a major rally for the Jena Six and now hopefully Mychal Bell will join us," Sharpton said in an e-mailed statement. "Mychal Bell's parents will still join me in Chicago tomorrow and we will still continue mobilization on this miscarriage of justice." Jackson said, "The pressure must continue until all six boys are set free and sent to school, not to jail."

Racial tensions flared after nooses
Jena is a mostly white town where racial animosity flared about a year ago when a black student sat under a tree that was a traditional gathering place for whites.

A day later, three nooses were found hanging from the tree, evoking for some the image of lynchings in the old South. Caseptla Bailey, a Black community leader and mother of one of the Black students, told the London Observer, “To us those nooses meant the KKK, they meant, ‘Niggers, we're going to kill you, we're going to hang you till you die.’" The attack was brushed off as a “youthful stunt.” The three white students responsible, given only three days of in-school suspension.

In response to the incident, several Black students, among them star players on the football team, staged a sit-in under the tree. The principal reacted by bringing in the white district attorney, Reed Walters, and 10 local police officers to an all-school assembly. Marcus Jones, Mychal Bell’s father, described the assembly as follows:

"Now remember, with everything that goes on at Jena High School, everybody's separated. The only time when Black and white kids are together is in the classroom and when they playing sports together. During lunch time, Blacks sit on one side, whites sit on the other side of the cafeteria. During canteen time, Blacks sit on one side of the campus, whites sit on the other side of the campus.
“At any activity done in the auditorium—anything—Blacks sit on one side, whites on the other side, okay? The DA tells the principal to call the students in the auditorium. They get in there. The DA tells the Black students, he's looking directly at the Black students—remember, whites on one side, Blacks on the other side—he's looking directly at the Black students. He told them to keep their mouths shut about the boys hanging their nooses up. If he hears anything else about it, he can make their lives go away with the stroke of his pen."

DA Walters concluded that the students should “work it out on their own.” Police officers roamed the halls of the school that week, and tensions simmered throughout the fall semester. In November, as football season came to a close, the main school building was mysteriously burned to the ground. This traumatic event seemed to bring to the surface the boiling racial tensions in Jena.

On a Friday night, Robert Bailey, a 17-year-old Black student and football player, was invited to a dance at a hall considered to be “white.” When he walked in, without warning he was punched in the face, knocked on the ground and attacked by a group of white youth. Only one of the white youth was arrested—he was ultimately given probation and asked to apologize.

The night after that, a 22-year-old white man, along with two friends, pulled a gun on Bailey and two of his friends at a local gas station. The Black youths wrestled the gun from him to prevent him from using it. They were arrested and charged with theft, and the white man went free.

The following Monday students returned to school. In the midst of a confrontation between a white student, Justin Barker, and a Black student, Robert Bailey—where Bailey was taunted for having been beaten up that weekend—a chaotic fray ensued. Barker was allegedly knocked down, punched, and kicked by a number of Black students. He was taken to the hospital for a few hours and was seen out socializing later that evening.

Six Black students—Robert Bailey Junior, Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, Mychal Bell, and a still unidentified minor, allegedly the attackers of Justin Barker—were arrested, charged with attempted second degree manslaughter, and expelled from school.

Impact on the other students
The reversal of Bell's conviction will not affect four other teenagers also charged as adults, because they were 17 years old at the time of the fight and, legally, no longer juveniles in Louisiana, said attorney George Tucker of Hammond.

Bell was 16 at the time of the fight, making him a juvenile under Louisiana law. Tucker, who represented one of teens — Theo Shaw — until Friday, said the boy whose case is in juvenile court will benefit, and Bell will be tried by a judge in juvenile court.

Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr., who heard Bell's case, noted that the district attorney also could appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court. District Attorney Reed Walters did not return a call asking his next step.

Details of ruling
Mauffray had thrown out a conspiracy conviction on which Bell was convicted, saying it was not a charge on which a juvenile may be tried as an adult. But he had let the battery conviction stand, saying Bell could be tried in adult court because the charge was among lesser charges included in the original attempted murder charge against him. He was wrong, the Third Circuit ruled.

While teenagers can be tried as adults in Louisiana for some violent crimes, including attempted murder, aggravated battery is not one of those crimes. Defense lawyers had argued that the aggravated battery case should not have been tried in adult court once the attempted murder charge was reduced.

"The defendant was not tried on an offense which could have subjected him to the jurisdiction of the criminal court," the three-paragraph ruling said. The case "remains exclusively in juvenile court," the Third Circuit ruled.

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Upcoming Jena 6 forum at WSU

The Wichita State African American Student Association (which will soon be officially chartered as the WSU Branch NAACP) will host a Jena 6 panel discussion in room 223 of the WSU Rhatighan Student Center on Wednesday September 19th at 6:30pm. Tentatively scheduled to appear on the panel will be Aonya Kendrick of the AASA, 89th District Representative Melody McCray-Miller, William Hoston; Professor of Political Science, Kevin Myles (yours truly), and Rev. Reuben Eckels; Pastor of New Day Christian Church.

This event is being assembled on the fly, so keep checking the blog. I'll post frequent updates as details are finalized!

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Jena 6 National Week of Solidarity and Action

In a show of support and unity, many people and organizations from around the country are planning to mobilize in Jena on September 20th – the day of Mychal Bell’s sentencing. On September 16 – 21, the NAACP Youth & College Division is requesting NAACP units and community supporters to participate in the “Jena 6 National Week of Solidarity & Action”. Click here for a plan of action to assist you in implementing activities during this week.

Remember that the Jena 6 cases are not just isolated incidents that occurred in one small, Southern town in America. In fact, many injustices disproportionately impacting Black youth are occurring in big cities, small towns and rural areas everyday. The Jena 6 cases show us how criminal/juvenile justice, education and voter empowerment can all intercede to impact the lives of young people for better or for worse.

It is imperative that your education and activism continue well past when the final decisions in the Jena 6 cases are rendered. Additional information regarding logistics for September 20th is forthcoming. Please review the actions attached to see how you can continue the fight for justice and equality in your local community.

If we don’t stand up for the Jena 6 and fight to end racism in America who will?


Stefanie L. Brown,
National Director
NAACP Youth & College Division
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215

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First person report from the Jena 6 Proceedings at the LaSalle Parish Courthouse

(Email from Clifford Boxley)
September 5, 2007

Peace and Blessings!

This is an unofficial update on the happenings relative to the Jena 6. On Tuesday September 4, 2007, there were two sessions of the La Salle Parish Court involving three of the Jena 6 and supporters continuing the struggle for justice.
At a 9:00, A. M. session defense lawyers for two of the Jena 6 appeared in court along with their clients for entering a plea. In both cases, the two Jena 6 young men, Theo Shaw and Carwin Jones, pleaded not guilty and their lawyers requested a jury trial for them, which the judge granted. There was no objection from the District Attorney’s office. The District Attorney, Reed Walters, was not present in this session of the court.
The courtroom was full of Jena 6 supporters along with a dozen or so local and national media, CNN and a reporter for a German news agency among them. By 10 A. M. this portion of the Jena 6 proceedings were concluded and supporters and media relaxed outside the courthouse waiting for a 1 P. M. court session involving Mychal Bell, the convicted Jena 6 youth who remains in jail awaiting sentencing on September 20, 2007.
Media persons with TV. cameras rolling, pursued parents of the Jena 6, members of the Jena 6 present, and their lawyers for any angle of a story they could get. The camera crews stood vigilantly along the walkway in front of the courthouse during the completely long day. In temperatures that climbed to 93 degrees by noon, CNN’s director even dispensed soft drinks and water to family members of some of the Jena 6.
While waiting for the one O’clock court appearance of Mychal Bell, there was a chance for my person to circulate among and converse with parents of the Jena 6 and others supporters.

Fund Raiser in New Orleans. Conseptla Bailey and Trina Wallace stated Parents of Jena 6 would travel to New Orleans at the week’s end for a fund raising event.

Jena 6 T-shirts banned at Jena High School. Trina Wallace stated some African American high school students had their own personal t-shirts designed showing support of the Jena 6. School officials banned the wearing of the t-shirts backing up the ban with a 3-day suspension from school for violators. In the courtroom, a student sat in front of me with “Jena 6” cut into his hair. Didn’t have the opportunity to ask what were the school officials’ reactions to his styled haircut?

A Twenty-Mile March on September 20, 2007 Day of Mychal Bell Sentencing. Jesse Muhammad from a Huston Texas based organization called Southern Christian Leadership inform me they are planning to have a 20-miles march on September 20th as part of the national call for two (2) thousands persons to come to Jena in a show of support for the Jena 6 and Mychal Bell in particular. One of the representatives said they are going teach the Jena “white power” structure a lesson regarding destruction of “our black youth.”
I hope to have updated information about the planned march, its beginning location and other details.

The Black Court Appointed Attorney for Mychal Bell. The original court appointed attorney for Mychal Bell, Blaine Williams attended the courtroom. One of the Jena 6 supporters informed my person she went up and talked to the Black court appointed attorney who did not call one single witness on Mychal Bell’s behalf or ask the District Attorney’s witness questions during the trail. She specifically asked him about his position and thinking that an “all white jury would be fair” to Mychal Bell as his reason. “Do you think I am cynical” was his response. I told her cynical was not the right description, he must have been out of his mind thinking the jury would have been fair in the highly charged white supremacy domination atmosphere permeating Jena’s white psyche.

A Bit of Exciting Information. Just before lunchtime, a research lawyer for the Jena 6 defense lawyers came over to show King Downing of the New York based ACLU a copy of a letter statement obtained from a white football coach at Jena High. The statement was obtained just hours before Mychal’s Bell’s case was schedule at 1 P. M. Listening in on the discussion it appeared that the coach had signed this statement saying that an unidentified juvenile member of the Jena 6 was the person who had allegedly punched Justin Barker, the white student beaten at Jena High allegedly by the Jena 6 last December.
Reaction from the persons gathered around was upbeat about the new information. However, it was stated that the unnamed juvenile who was now named, had been sent off to boot camp months ago. Supposedly, he had been given a choice of go to jail or go to boot camp. He was shipped out of town early and not around for any of the court proceeding involving the of aged teenage members of Jena 6.

High Drama just outside the courthouse door. While Jena 6 supporters and media folk continued lingering on the courthouse lawn, Jena 6 member Robert Bailey came outside and shouted to his mother Conseptla Bailey, “they got Theo!” The sheriff deputy got Theo!” Theo Shaw was one of the Jena 6 members whose arraignment for trail on January 28, 2008 took place at 9 A. M. Suddenly, there was a rush of Jena 6 supporters, lawyers and media folk all trying desperately to get inside as sheriff deputies had them pass through the single metal detector stall. Once inside us all learned that a sheriff deputy had grabbed Theo and dragged him into a back room of the courthouse. By then, Theo and the team of Jena 6 lawyer emerged from the backroom. Theo appeared mentally crushed and was crying his poor heart out.
Word had it that the deputy supposedly overheard Theo singing a “curse word.” Jena 6 Robert Bailey repeated the line of the song he said was a rap song Theo was singing to himself while waiting in the waiting area of courthouse. The so-called curse word in the four-word line was “shit.” Shit man you get man handled by a sheriff deputy for saying shit. Shit did happen to Theo Shaw at La Salle Parish Courthouse for the whole world to see right on CNN and other media.
Word is the particular deputy always has been an “aggressive” deputy. Well! Poetic justice came around in what goes around comes around. The whole world could see on CNN yet another example of the type of white supremacy domination oppression Blacks of Jena Louisiana and the Jena 6 are subjected.

Mychal Bell’s Defense Team Couldn’t Get No Justice Satisfaction All Afternoon. As the one P. M. court session convened, the only item on the docket was Mychal Bell. The dark and handsome young black man was brought in by La Salle Parish Sheriff Courthouse deputies and sat down among his legal defense team. Immediately behind sat his father Marcus Jones. The son really possessed the facial features of his also tall, dark and handsome father. Filling up the rest of the courthouse seats on the left side were Mychal’s mothers, other Jena 6 members, relatives, friends and supporters of the Jena 6 from afar and near. Filling in most of the seats on the right hand side of the courtroom were relatives and friends of Justin Barker, the white student beaten in the Jena High School fight.
Mychal’s team of lawyer waged four and half hours of motions at the judge in a seemly no win situation with the same judge who presided over Mychal’s trail when he was convicted by an all-white jury, pressured by an overly aggressive and excessive District Attorney, Reed Walters. Reed Walters sat opposite Mychal unmoved and hard-nosed challenging each motion from Mychal’s lawyers. It seemed at times in my mind the judge appeared to be practicing the law, instead of judging it as he time and time again fingered through the Louisiana legal reference book to find some text he used to refute the arguments of Mychal’s defense lawyers.
The lawyers tried to no satisfaction to get the judge to agree with them on several motions that included discrediting one of the trail jurors, District Attorney’s failure to produce an instrument for the charge of attempted murder, the District Attorney amendments of his bill from juvenile court to criminal court and motion for a new trail. One after the other the judge sat there displaying a jackal demeanor, while time and time again denying or overruling Mychal’s attorneys’ motions.
On one issue, they did get some satisfaction. The judge granted their request for a dismissal of conspiracy charge against Mychal as well agreed that he should have been tried in juvenile court instead of adult court.
King Downing of the ACLU thought this small victory might become a large victory if the judge’s dismissal of conspiracy charge applies to all the other Jena 6 members’ charges.
Overall, the judge teased the lawyers to make appeals to the Louisiana Appellate Courts who might just agree with their claims. Certainly, he could not be moved.
Therefore, let us heed the call for two thousand (2,000) protestors from all over America to flood into Jena on September 20, 2007 in support of justice, justice for the Jena 6 and justice of Mychal Bell. In my opinion, we must help the judge have a change of heart and do the right thing for Mychal Bell or Mychal is going to be sent off to prison.
Come to Jena on September 20, 2007 and help “Chant Down Babylon.”

Again, as we did back on July 31, 2007 we want to go to Jena in a car caravan departing from Natchez Mississippi. At 6:30, A. M. assembles at the Natchez Visitor Center’s parking lot at the juncture of U. S. Highway 84 West and Canal Street just before crossing the Mississippi River Bridge into Louisiana.

Please call me @ 601- 442-4719 or email: forksyaroads@aol.com to let me know you are planning on joining us. This way I can look out for your arrival.

Ser Seshs Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley reporting.

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Jena High School bans T-shirts supporting black students accused of beating white schoolmate

(AP) - JENA, Louisiana-Officials at a Louisiana high school have banned T-shirts supporting six black students accused of beating of a white schoolmate, saying the shirts are too disruptive.
The six students were charged with attempted murder, which has led to outrage in the black community and drawn attention from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is monitoring the cases.

Racial tensions surfaced last fall when students found three nooses hanging from a tree on campus that a black student had tried to sit under. Three white students were suspended, but no criminal charges were filed.
About nine students at Jena High School wore the "Free the Jena 6" T-shirts Tuesday, and the slogan caused too much commotion on campus, said LaSalle Parish Schools Superintendent Roy Breithaupt said.
John Jenkins said his three daughters wore the shirts to make a statement, not to cause trouble.
"They weren't doing anything other than wearing the shirts," Jenkins said. "The school doesn't have a dress code. They were covered. They're trying to tell them what they can and can't wear."
His son, Carwin Jones, is one of the six students charged in the December 2006 beating of 18-year-old Justin Barker. Barker was treated for a swollen and cut face and released the same day.
One of the students, Mychal Bell, 17, was convicted on a reduced charge of aggravated second-degree battery and faces up to 22 years in prison. The other five teens are awaiting trial on attempted murder and conspiracy charges.

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