Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Darryl Fears Tina Jones of Jena, La., stands under a tree at Jena High School where three nooses were found dangling last year. The incident set off racial unrest in the town, including a fight for which her son Bryant Purvis faces criminal charges. School officials had the tree cut down this summer.

Thousands are expected to attend a major protest against racism and oppression that is planned today in Jena, La. SJSU's Black Student Union is staging a silent protest to coincide with the protest in Jena which will start at noon in front of the John Carlos and Tommie Smith statue.

According to the Black Student Union, the purpose will be to protest racial events that took place last year in Jena. According to news reports, last September two black students sat underneath a tree which was known to be a "white tree". The next morning nooses were found hanging from the branches which sparked racial tensions within the community, news reports said.

The racial tensions came to a peak when Mychal Bell, a black student, allegedly punched a white student, knocking him unconscious. While the white student lay on the floor, a few other black students kicked and stomped him, according to reports. Bell and the other black students facing these charges are known now as the Jena Six.

Anastasia Locklin, a Black Student Union liason and a junior psychology major, said that she hopes the protest will help stop what she says is an injustice that is happening in Louisiana.

"The only way to stop injustice is to speak up," Locklin said. She said the Black Student Union is asking students to wear black to the protest because it shows the mourning that the families of the Jena Six are going through and it also portrays the oppression of racism that is still apparent in some communities today. All students are welcome to participate in the protest, Locklin said.

Twenty-five students were surveyed around the SJSU campus on Sept. 19 about the Jena Six and their knowledge of the case. Of the 25 students, only three students had any knowledge of the situation.

"It was brought up in my war and peace class this morning," said Adam Turrey, a senior global studies major. "One kid brought it up and we talked about it for about 20 minutes."

Continued...

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