Local Jena 6 Solidarity

The Ad Hoc Twin Cities Jena Six Solidarity Action Group invited community members to the Minneapolis Urban League for a protest meeting to demand justice for Louisiana's Jena Six.

The Jena Six refers to a group of six black teenagers who have been charged with the beating of a white teenager at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana on December 4, 2006.

A string of racially charged violence followed the school fight, most notably an incident that occurred last fall when two black students sat under the white tree on campus. Several white students responded by hanging nooses on the tree. The white students, who hung these symbols of hatred, were punished with only minor suspensions from the school.

The Ad Hoc group says what makes the Jena Six case different is that thousands of ordinary people from around the country have responded to this injustice with active solidarity.

The Minneapolis Urban League will host another Solidarity Meeting on Thursday October 18th at 6pm. The MUL is located at 2100 Plymouth Avenue North. For more information, call Cheryl Morgan Spencer (Minneapolis Urban League) at (612) 302-3100, Cheryl Wilson (Organizing Project of African-American Congregations) at (612) 871-8980 ext. 104, or Chris Nisan at (651) 387-4388.

This story was submitted on October 15, 2007. Erin Vassilopoulos was a contributor.