Hearing of the House Committee on the Judiciary- Jena 6 and the Role of Federal Intervention in Hate Crimes and Race-Related Violence in Public School
Interview
Hearing of the House Committee on the Judiciary- Jena 6 and the Role of Federal Intervention in Hate Crimes and Race-Related Violence in Public School
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REP. HANK JOHNSON (D-GA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I must say that I am very happy that you called this hearing so quickly in response to the escalating developments in Jena, Louisiana, which continue to this day, an injustice that pains the hearts of so many, including myself.
And I would first want to kind of set the record straight about what actually happened here. Back on August the 31st of '06, a student who had asked for permission to sit under a tree, indicating a problem in Jena, Louisiana. Any time you have to ask for permission to sit under a tree, there's a problem. And so the student sat under that white tree, the so-called white tree, on August 31st of '06, and that's when all Hades broke loose.
The noose incident -- nooses hung from trees, we know what that means. A noose is not a symbol of endearment. It's a symbol of terrorism, and terrorism was commenced. The students who engaged in the terrorist act were suspended, and when the blacks protested, when they exercised their constitutional right to protest the slap on the hand given for the terrorist incident, then the LaSalle Parish district attorney, Reed Walters, flanked by police officers, came to the school and issued a threat to the students. He said, "With the stroke of my pen, I can make your lives disappear. So you'd better be quiet." But the situation continued to escalate.
He's also, by the way, Reed Parish -- or, Reed Walters, the attorney for the LaSalle Parish School District, which means that he has access to all of the privileged information that these students have; all of their school records, all about their parents and all about their families. He has access to that.
And so the situation continued to escalate. The building, the school building was burned back in November of '06. Thereafter, physical attacks against black students ensued. One of the Jena Six students, Robert Bailey, was attacked physically and then the next day a white boy pulled a gun on him. And they charged Robert Bailey with stealing the gun after he took the gun away from the guy. Egregious conduct.
Then taunts, calling folks "niggers" out in the school yard. And then finally there was this fight -- a schoolyard brawl which resulted in a small degree of physical injury to the white student, who attended a party later on that night. And then the black students, the Jena Six, were charged with attempted murder. And that's what was done to try to diffuse this situation is to treat it harshly, treat it with the long arm of the law, to treat it under color of state law in a terrorist way.
At some point the federal government became aware of this situation -- and I'll ask about that in a second -- but I do know that at some point the parents, calling out for some kind of justice, none being forthcoming from the federal government or the state government, they contacted someone who they knew was about justice, and that was Reverend Al Sharpton. And Reverend Al Sharpton responded, and I want to thank you for your response. There are people who will criticize you, Reverend, and say that you only go where the cameras are. But I'll say that wherever you go, the cameras go. (Laughter.) And it shed light on this gross injustice that was happening and that continues to happen.
Marty King, Jesse Jackson, all of the other stalwarts of the civil rights movement came out and responded to this with 20,000 or so young people who arrived at the scene. I know, Mr. Washington, that it upset the locals, and you indicated that they were not expecting that kind of a response. And so they were -- they were undeterred, however, after the appellate court released -- or after the appellate court threw out the charges against Mychal Bell -- the adult charges -- and he was released on bond. But now he has been locked up again for a probation violation. And it smacks of vindictive prosecution.
I wonder if --
REP. CONYERS: The gentleman's time has expired, and we're under the pressures of bells summoning us to the floor.
REP. JOHNSON: All right. Thank you. If I might ask one question, Mr. Chairman.
Has the district attorney's office been investigated for depriving the students of Jena, Louisiana of their rights to protest by threatening them with taking away their -- making their lives disappear? Is that a civil rights violation that has been investigated by your office?
MR. WASHINGTON: Let me just say that your recitation of the facts varies --
REP. JOHNSON: Well, no -- if you would answer my question, I would appreciate it. Well, has --
MR. WASHINGTON: -- varies greatly from the facts that appears to exist.
REP. JOHNSON: Has your office investigated the district attorney for violating the civil rights of the students by issuing that threat to them, trying to stop them from legally protesting?
MR. WASHINGTON: The -- that situation did not occur, as best I know. That's what I'm trying to get at here.
REP. JOHNSON: The DA did not say that at an assembly?
MR. WASHINGTON: Yes, the DA did say those words, but not under the --
REP. JOHNSON: Surrounded by police officers in uniform?
MR. WASHINGTON: Not under the circumstance -- no, sir. Not as best as I can tell from a review of the situation.
REP. JOHNSON: Well, has it been investigated by your office?
REP. SMITH: Mr. Chairman, that's the seventh question asked after he ran out of time. I'd ask if we could move along.
REP. JOHNSON: But he still hasn't answered --
REP. SMITH: Mr. Chairman?
REP. JOHNSON: He still has not answered, Mr. Chairman.
REP. CONYERS: Well, let's see if he's going to answer. And then I'd like to try to get at Betty Sue Sutton before the bells ring.
REP. JOHNSON: Yes or no, sir?
MR. WASHINGTON: My answer is that the congressman's statement of the facts didn't occur in that fashion. And if it had occurred in that fashion, perhaps there would be an investigation. But they did not occur in that fashion.
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