Amnesty & Jena 6 -- take action!

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Via Amnesty Int'l:

Tomorrow, thousands of activists will rally in Jena, Louisiana. They’ll be supporting the so-called "Jena Six." You can support them too, by demanding that the Justice Department review their case.

The Jena Six are African-American high school students who, after a fight last December in which a white student was hurt, were arrested and charged--five of them with attempted murder. Although Justin Barker, the white student injured in the altercation, was hurt badly enough to go to the hospital, he attended a school function later that evening.

The fight occurred during a period of high racial tension in the community, prompted by an incident in which several black students sat under a tree that's traditionally "whites only." The next day, three nooses were hanging from it.

Some of the charges were reduced, from attempted murder to aggravated battery. But that's still a crime that could land a seventeen-year-old in jail for fifteen years. There's good reason to think that the charges in the case are disproportionate, and reflect a pattern of unequal treatment of black and white youths in the area. Urge the Justice Department to investigate .

Human rights don't start at the water's edge--there's urgent work to be done here at home. Thank you for raising your voice.

Best,

Jason Opeña Disterhoft
USA Program