Civil rights protesters converge on Jena by Delia Cruceru

Thousand of black Americans demonstrated Thursday on the street of Jena, a little town of 3000 person in Louisiana bout 230 miles northwest of New Orleans. The state police estimated that the demonstrators were 15,000 to 20,000 that marched from courthouse to Jena High-School. They protested against injustice made against six black teenagers charged of beating a white classmate. "This is a march for justice," the Reverend Al Sharpton said "This is not a march against whites or against Jena." Five of the teenagers involved in the beating were charged with attempted murder, the charges for the sixth were not disclosed as he was a juvenile. The protesters gathered there, came from parts like New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles or New Orleans and wore black T-shirts on which it could be read "Free the Jena 6". "I came because enough is enough. I am tired of the way the courts have been treating African Americans historically," said Doug Martin, a computer analyst from New Orleans. In August last year three nooses were hung from a tree in the school-yard, a gathering place for white students, but a day before the incident some black students had met there. The six defendants were alleged of attempted murder against Justin Barker, age 17 that is supposed to have a link with the noose incident. One of the students, Mychal Bell, was convicted for second-degree battery by all white jury, but this month the conviction was changed because he should not have been tried as an adult.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070920/ts_nm/usa_race_town_dc;_ylt=AtWAxyENeLmGFSvF.fz.xvms0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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