Hot News: Update on the Jena 6 Case & Larry King Interview

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CNN LARRY KING LIVE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Interview with "Jena 6" Parents

Joining us in Washington, Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell. They're the parents of Mychal Bell. Mychal is the only one of the so-called Jena 6 to have been tried and convicted in the beating of a white student named Justin Barker.

Mychal's conviction was thrown out earlier this month, but he remains behind bars.

With them in Washington is Reverend Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, former presidential candidate, who participated in last Thursday's rally in Jena.

Marcus, why is he still in jail?

MARCUS JONES, SON MYCHAL BELL STILL IN JAIL THOUGH CONVICTION THROWN OUT TWO WEEKS AGO: Well, we really don't know ourselves, Larry. The 3rd Circuit Court threw out his adult conviction and charge and we really don't understand why, you know, he's still sitting in adult jail at this time.

KING: Melissa, do you know?

MELISSA BELL, SON MYCHAL BELL STILL IN JAIL THOUGH CONVICTION THROWN OUT TWO WEEKS AGO: No, sir, I don't.

KING: What do they tell you when you ask?

BELL: They don't tell us. They're just saying right now that some motions have to be filed and they're waiting on the D.A. to do whatever he's got to do. And that's all they tell us.

KING: Why are you in Washington, Marcus?

JONES: Well, we're coming to meet with the national Black Caucus today -- well, tomorrow.

KING: And you want them do what?

JONES: Well, basically, we just want them to just launch a fuller -- a full investigation on the D.A. and the D.A.'s office in LaSalle Parish for illegally trying my son, illegally putting adult charges on him while he was a juvenile. I mean just -- just launch a whole -- a whole out investigation on the D.A.'s office and on the D.A.

KING: You admit, Melissa, though that Mychal has had some problems, right?

BELL: Yes, he had a few, but like most teenagers.

KING: Do you think that's the thing being held against him?

BELL: That's what they're trying to say is what's being held against him, yes.

JONES: But see, the thing about that, Larry -- see, in Jena, Louisiana, if you're doing -- if you're benefiting the town in some kind of way where Mychal was, by him being a good football player, putting Jena High School on the map, creating the revenue for the Jena, giving Jena publicity, having different scouts come in for -- for to scout him and watch him and everything. He was doing a good work for the town. So all of this so-called other charges that he is supposed to have, they were all fine and dandy back then.

KING: All right. Off the face of it, it looks weird.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, TOOK PART IN LAST WEEK'S RALLY IN JENA, LOUISIANA: Well, I think what you...

KING: We know he is convicted. They overturned the conviction. Normally that means you get a new trial or they don't try again.

But why is he still being kept? Why no bail?

SHARPTON: Well, that's why we are in Washington, I asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, to meet with us. And he'll be meeting with Martin Luther King III and the parents and their lawyers tomorrow to see if there can be any federal intervention.

This young man's civil rights is being violated. You can't hold someone that now the conviction is overturned, you have not put a bond on him or a bail based on that there's a juvenile charge.

And you must remember, Larry, this started because last September, black students sat under a tree in the schoolyard at Jena High School, and -- a tree that historically only white students sat under. The next day, there were three hangman's nooses reminding black kids of lynching hung there. They would not suspend the kids. When they had recommended that, the school board overturned it.

There was a series of fights. At one point, a young black student was beat up, the white kid given a $100 fine. At another point, a white kid pulled a shot gun...

KING: Did these...

SHARPTON: ...the black kids overpowered him.

KING: Yes.

SHARPTON: They arrested the black kids for stealing the shotgun.

I mean a litany of cases and the only ones charged is these six young men.

KING: Were they...

SHARPTON: That's why you saw thousands of us come out.

KING: But they -- I agree.

But they did beat up a white kid pretty badly, did they?

SHARPTON: And we're not justifying that. But what I'm saying is you can't have six or seven encounters, including a shotgun on black students, including hangman nooses, including beating up a black kid badly and all of those are dismissed, no charges -- in one a $100 fine. But when the black kids fight, they're charged as adults...

KING: So you're saying...

SHARPTON: ...and they're charged with attempted murder and the sneakers are the murder weapon. That's an inequity of justice.

KING: You're saying this definitely, in your opinion, a racial thing?

SHARPTON: I think that there's clearly a pattern here that warrants a federal intervention.

KING: OK.

We have the LaSalle Parish Superintendent of Schools, Roy Breithaupt, Jr., provided LARRY KING LIVE with a statement about the handling of the August 2006 noose incident and the December 2006 beating.

And it concludes: "Following an extensive investigation into the incidents, United States Attorney Donald W. Washington verified there was absolutely, one, no connection between the August 2006 noose incident and the December 2006 attack. The incident that occurred in December of 2006 was no schoolyard fight. It was a pre-meditated ambush and an attack by six students against one student. The one student attacked was beat and kicked into a bloody state of unconsciousness. Is there a difference in these two situations? I believe there is."

But he doesn't address why there is no bail for your son, Melissa.

BELL: Well, of course, they're not going to address it, because they don't want nobody to know why there's not no bail for Mychal.

SHARPTON: And they don't address, Larry, why there was no equal treatment on the other case. One doesn't have to prove whether the December fight had anything to do with the nooses. One has to ask why the same D.A. that did not prosecute white students for behavior all of the way through would overcharge -- now the court has said he overcharged the black students.

We're talking about a pattern here. They're trying to play like we're dealing with some kind of "I-Spy" game of connection. We're talking about the pattern of prosecution and the lack of. That's why tens of thousands of people came out, because the imbalance and inequity in the justice system is happening all over America.

KING: Marcus, why do you think -- why do you think they haven't given him bail?

JONES: Well, I think that...

KING: I mean bail is a constitutional requirement.

JONES: Yes.

KING: Everyone is entitled to bail except first degree murder...

JONES: I think that...

KING: Why no bail?

JONES: Well, something illegal is going on with the justice system there in LaSalle Parish. The D.A. know that he had dug himself in a hole that he probably can't get himself out of. I think, really, what he is really trying to do is hold Mychal in there for whatever other reason. But I don't understand why he just won't give my son bail.

BELL: I think by them denying Mychal bail is his one last hope for getting...

JONES: To get his act right.

BELL: ...of getting next to Mychal and holding him...

JONES: That's exactly right.

BELL: ...because he knows sooner or later he's going to have to set him free.

JONES: That's exactly right.

BELL: And this is one more battle for him, is to hold him in there as long as he can.

KING: So what, Melissa, is your next legal step?

BELL: It's to go with -- to the 3rd Circuit Court.

KING: To go to where?

BELL: The 3rd Circuit Court.

KING: In Louisiana?

BELL: Yes, sir. And to go with Reverend Al Sharpton to where we're going tomorrow, to talk to the lawyers tomorrow.

KING: Do you think federally they can do something, Al?

SHARPTON: Yes. I think should inquire -- they can certainly start a public hearing and make the D.A. explain his patterns in terms of prosecution. They could also deal with the fact that there's a Web site up that had listed the Jena 6's home address. They've all been getting threatening phone calls. They can protect them. And they can also raise the question of now Mychal is being harassed in jail.

I've visited Mychal three times in jail. Now he's been put in isolation since the march and been threatened. So the Feds, just as we are celebrating 50 years ago the federal government had to go into Little Rock, we are going to be asking tomorrow the federal government to look into Jena.

KING: OK.

We'll follow that up tomorrow.

Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell and Reverend Al Sharpton.

By the way, LARRY KING LIVE invited Justin Barker, the alleged victim in the Jena 6 beating, or his relatives, to appear on the program this evening. The invitation was declined. The Barkers also declined to provide any statement on this case. Also declining our requests for comments were LaSalle Parish D.A. John Reed Walters and Judge J.P. Mauffrey, who has been presiding over Mychal Bell's case.

Meantime, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Donald Washington, confirms the United States Justice Department and the FBI are aware of allegations about threats against the Jena 6 and their families.

Washington says that the department is taking these allegations seriously and that the FBI and Louisiana law enforcement authorities are investigating them.



Jena Threats

Link to article: http://www.bet.com/News/NewsArticleJena6Threats.htm

Anybody who thinks that last Thursday’s rally on behalf of six Black Jena, La., teens was enough to at least put a damper on racist activity need only look at what’s been happening in the hours and days surrounding the biggest civil rights gathering in years.

In addition to two White males arrested for dangling nooses from their pickup truck shortly after the rally – allegedly trying to scare up a another fight from peaceful protestors – on Friday nooses were found swinging from a tree at a North Carolina high school, and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco now reports a spike in the number of national hate groups that are publishing private contact information of the “Jena 6” on the Internet.

Among the groups that local, state and federal officials are watching closely is a neo-Nazi faction in Roanoke, Va., which, in addition to posting the names, urged its users to "Lynch the Jena 6," the Roanoke Times reported. The two Whites males with nooses tied to their truck – an 18-year-old driver and 16-year-old passenger with KKK tattooed on his chest – were taken into custody in Alexandria, La., 45 minutes north of Jena. The driver was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, driving while intoxicated and inciting to riot. Police said he also had a rifle in the back of the truck and brass knuckles on the dashboard.

Said Blanco: "Harassing families involved in the legal issues in Jena cannot and will not be tolerated. ... [A]nyone who stoops to such unspeakable persecution will be investigated and subject to the full penalty of law."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, no stranger to acts of intimidation, said, "Some of the families have received almost around-the-clock calls of threats and harassment since this Web site appeared, and to think that some person could actually harm or even continue to harass these families with no effort by law enforcement, will further exacerbate the tensions around this case immeasurably. Since our massive rally, there have been hangmen nooses found in several cities. The escalation has been met with a stubborn silence by officials in Jena, and we feel the governor must send in state law enforcement to investigate these threats and protect the public."


FBI Reviewing Anti-Jena 6 Web Page
FBI Investigating Web Site With Supposed Addresses and Phone Numbers of Jena 6
By BECKY BOHRER

Link to article: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3639002

The FBI is reviewing a white supremacist Web site that purports to list the addresses of five of the six black teenagers accused of beating a white student in Jena and "essentially called for their lynching," an agency spokeswoman said Saturday.

Sheila Thorne, an agent in the FBI's New Orleans office, said authorities were reviewing whether the site breaks any federal laws. She said the FBI had "gathered intelligence on the matter," but declined to further explain how the agency got involved.

CNN first reported Friday about the Web site, which features a swastika, frequent use of racial slurs, a mailing address in Roanoke, Va., and phone numbers purportedly for some of the teens' families "in case anyone wants to deliver justice." That page is dated Thursday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement Saturday that some of the families have received "almost around the clock calls of threats and harassment," and called on Gov. Kathleen Blanco to intervene.

A Blanco spokeswoman said the governor had asked law enforcement primarily state police to investigate.

"These people need more than an investigation. They need protection," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said. He said his organization would be in touch with President Bush's nominee for attorney general, Michael Mukasey.

"This is a test for the disposition of the Department of Justice to serve as an intervenor and a deterrent" to hate crimes and discrimination, Jackson said. He said federal marshals should protect the families.

Carolas Purvis, whose number was among three listed on the Web site, said she did not feel in danger. Purvis is the aunt of Bryant Purvis, who has yet to be arraigned. She said she has received a number of calls, some from people who say nothing, others to let her know that her number had been put on the site. One, Friday night, used the N-word to her young son, she said.

A dispatcher for the LaSalle Parish Sheriff's Department said no one in the office Saturday could say whether any threats had been reported.

Of the two other numbers listed as "active" on the Web site, one was not answered Saturday; the other yielded a constant busy signal.

On Thursday, thousands of demonstrators marched in a civil rights demonstration in support of the so-called Jena 6. The six black teens were arrested after a December attack on a white student the culmination of fights between blacks and whites.

Of the six teens arrested, five initially were charged with attempted second-degree murder; charges for four have been reduced as they were arraigned. Charges against the sixth teen, booked as a juvenile, are sealed.

Mychal Bell is the only one to have been tried so far. A state appeals court recently threw out his conviction for aggravated second-degree battery, saying he couldn't be tried as an adult. He remained in jail pending an appeal.

William A. "Bill" White, listed as the Web site's editor and commander of the American National Socialist Workers Party, did not immediately answer an e-mail to his address. Calls to one of the two William Whites listed in Roanoke were not answered; the other said he was not involved with the site.

Blanco said Saturday that harassing families involved in the case "cannot and will not be tolerated."

"Public attacks on private citizens done out of ignorance and hatred is appalling, and anyone who stoops to such unspeakable persecution will be investigated and subject to the full penalty of law," she said in a statement.

[MrMedia]

I don`t think it`s safe for the families now, I would feel better if we can get the families out of JENA! NOW!

[swiftfish1]

It isn't safe for the families; however, I am more concerned for Mychal Bell's safety in prison. I know there are some white supremacists and others of the sort, there in prison with him that may be willing to seek out there own form of justice. As well he may be being mistreated by the guards and other prisoners, for the same reason. I am sure the other prisoners don’t appreciate all the attention this trial is bringing to the jail and the city, in general.

I am sure there is something the legal teams can do to have the Jena 6 and their families moved until the trials.

[henry8]

What is the President of the United States doing about all of this? Where is George Walker Bush, the man who denies he doesn't care about black people?

In another time, and another era Eisenhower, Kennedy even a southerner like Johnson got involved in these matters on a federal level.

Again I say, Where is the President of the United States and What is he doing about this horrific situation where families are being terrorized and their children unjustly targeted for standing up against unequal treatment?

I'm callin' you out GWB...c'mon President Dubya where you at on all this?

[Stilettos]

What is the President of the United States doing about all of this? Where is George Walker Bush, the man who denies he doesn't care about black people?

In another time, and another era Eisenhower, Kennedy even a southerner like Johnson got involved in these matters on a federal level.

Again I say, Where is the President of the United States and What is he doing about this horrific situation where families are being terrorized and their children unjustly targeted for standing up against unequal treatment?

I'm callin' you out GWB...c'mon President Dubya where you at on all this?

That's what I want to know, but what do we REALLY expect from him of all people????

[cympira]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/24/lkl.01.html

[vlpryor]

First Mike you are crazy as all out doors, but you are keeping it real and that's what black america wants to see. So I cast my vote for you to replace Larry, his facial expressions and gestures spoke for me, and in my field this is something you use to dig into somebody true intentions or just plain and simple what are they made of.

And I did the same thing how you and George do it, ugh...............you be having me screaming.

[cympira]

This really wasn't very long

"But first, exclusive -- their teenaged son is the only member of the Jena 6 jailed in the alleged beating case that's caused a racial controversy.

Now, in their first live interview, Mychal Bell's parents speak out on their son being behind bars for nine months, even though is conviction was thrown out earlier this month.

All next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Good evening.

Joining us in Washington, Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell. They're the parents of Mychal Bell. Mychal is the only one of the so-called Jena 6 to have been tried and convicted in the beating of a white student named Justin Barker.

Mychal's conviction was thrown out earlier this month, but he remains behind bars.

With them in Washington is Reverend Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, former presidential candidate, who participated in last Thursday's rally in Jena.

Marcus, why is he still in jail?

MARCUS JONES, SON MYCHAL BELL STILL IN JAIL THOUGH CONVICTION THROWN OUT TWO WEEKS AGO: Well, we really don't know ourselves, Larry. The 3rd Circuit Court threw out his adult conviction and charge and we really don't understand why, you know, he's still sitting in adult jail at this time.

KING: Melissa, do you know?

MELISSA BELL, SON MYCHAL BELL STILL IN JAIL THOUGH CONVICTION THROWN OUT TWO WEEKS AGO: No, sir, I don't.

KING: What do they tell you when you ask?

BELL: They don't tell us. They're just saying right now that some motions have to be filed and they're waiting on the D.A. to do whatever he's got to do. And that's all they tell us.

KING: Why are you in Washington, Marcus?

JONES: Well, we're coming to meet with the national Black Caucus today -- well, tomorrow.

KING: And you want them do what?

JONES: Well, basically, we just want them to just launch a fuller -- a full investigation on the D.A. and the D.A.'s office in LaSalle Parish for illegally trying my son, illegally putting adult charges on him while he was a juvenile. I mean just -- just launch a whole -- a whole out investigation on the D.A.'s office and on the D.A.

KING: You admit, Melissa, though that Mychal has had some problems, right?

BELL: Yes, he had a few, but like most teenagers.

KING: Do you think that's the thing being held against him?

BELL: That's what they're trying to say is what's being held against him, yes.

JONES: But see, the thing about that, Larry -- see, in Jena, Louisiana, if you're doing -- if you're benefiting the town in some kind of way where Mychal was, by him being a good football player, putting Jena High School on the map, creating the revenue for the Jena, giving Jena publicity, having different scouts come in for -- for to scout him and watch him and everything. He was doing a good work for the town. So all of this so-called other charges that he is supposed to have, they were all fine and dandy back then.

KING: All right. Off the face of it, it looks weird.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, TOOK PART IN LAST WEEK'S RALLY IN JENA, LOUISIANA: Well, I think what you...

KING: We know he is convicted. They overturned the conviction. Normally that means you get a new trial or they don't try again.

But why is he still being kept? Why no bail?

SHARPTON: Well, that's why we are in Washington, I asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, to meet with us. And he'll be meeting with Martin Luther King III and the parents and their lawyers tomorrow to see if there can be any federal intervention.

This young man's civil rights is being violated. You can't hold someone that now the conviction is overturned, you have not put a bond on him or a bail based on that there's a juvenile charge.

And you must remember, Larry, this started because last September, black students sat under a tree in the schoolyard at Jena High School, and -- a tree that historically only white students sat under. The next day, there were three hangman's nooses reminding black kids of lynching hung there. They would not suspend the kids. When they had recommended that, the school board overturned it.

There was a series of fights. At one point, a young black student was beat up, the white kid given a $100 fine. At another point, a white kid pulled a shot gun...

KING: Did these...

SHARPTON: ...the black kids overpowered him.

KING: Yes.

SHARPTON: They arrested the black kids for stealing the shotgun.

I mean a litany of cases and the only ones charged is these six young men.

KING: Were they...

SHARPTON: That's why you saw thousands of us come out.

KING: But they -- I agree.

But they did beat up a white kid pretty badly, did they?

SHARPTON: And we're not justifying that. But what I'm saying is you can't have six or seven encounters, including a shotgun on black students, including hangman nooses, including beating up a black kid badly and all of those are dismissed, no charges -- in one a $100 fine. But when the black kids fight, they're charged as adults...

KING: So you're saying...

SHARPTON: ...and they're charged with attempted murder and the sneakers are the murder weapon. That's an inequity of justice.

KING: You're saying this definitely, in your opinion, a racial thing?

SHARPTON: I think that there's clearly a pattern here that warrants a federal intervention.

KING: OK.

We have the LaSalle Parish Superintendent of Schools, Roy Breithaupt, Jr., provided LARRY KING LIVE with a statement about the handling of the August 2006 noose incident and the December 2006 beating.

And it concludes: "Following an extensive investigation into the incidents, United States Attorney Donald W. Washington verified there was absolutely, one, no connection between the August 2006 noose incident and the December 2006 attack. The incident that occurred in December of 2006 was no schoolyard fight. It was a pre-meditated ambush and an attack by six students against one student. The one student attacked was beat and kicked into a bloody state of unconsciousness. Is there a difference in these two situations? I believe there is."

But he doesn't address why there is no bail for your son, Melissa.

BELL: Well, of course, they're not going to address it, because they don't want nobody to know why there's not no bail for Mychal.

SHARPTON: And they don't address, Larry, why there was no equal treatment on the other case. One doesn't have to prove whether the December fight had anything to do with the nooses. One has to ask why the same D.A. that did not prosecute white students for behavior all of the way through would overcharge -- now the court has said he overcharged the black students.

We're talking about a pattern here. They're trying to play like we're dealing with some kind of "I-Spy" game of connection. We're talking about the pattern of prosecution and the lack of. That's why tens of thousands of people came out, because the imbalance and inequity in the justice system is happening all over America.

KING: Marcus, why do you think -- why do you think they haven't given him bail?

JONES: Well, I think that...

KING: I mean bail is a constitutional requirement.

JONES: Yes.

KING: Everyone is entitled to bail except first degree murder...

JONES: I think that...

KING: Why no bail?

JONES: Well, something illegal is going on with the justice system there in LaSalle Parish. The D.A. know that he had dug himself in a hole that he probably can't get himself out of. I think, really, what he is really trying to do is hold Mychal in there for whatever other reason. But I don't understand why he just won't give my son bail.

BELL: I think by them denying Mychal bail is his one last hope for getting...

JONES: To get his act right.

BELL: ...of getting next to Mychal and holding him...

JONES: That's exactly right.

BELL: ...because he knows sooner or later he's going to have to set him free.

JONES: That's exactly right.

BELL: And this is one more battle for him, is to hold him in there as long as he can.

KING: So what, Melissa, is your next legal step?

BELL: It's to go with -- to the 3rd Circuit Court.

KING: To go to where?

BELL: The 3rd Circuit Court.

KING: In Louisiana?

BELL: Yes, sir. And to go with Reverend Al Sharpton to where we're going tomorrow, to talk to the lawyers tomorrow.

KING: Do you think federally they can do something, Al?

SHARPTON: Yes. I think should inquire -- they can certainly start a public hearing and make the D.A. explain his patterns in terms of prosecution. They could also deal with the fact that there's a Web site up that had listed the Jena 6's home address. They've all been getting threatening phone calls. They can protect them. And they can also raise the question of now Mychal is being harassed in jail.

I've visited Mychal three times in jail. Now he's been put in isolation since the march and been threatened. So the Feds, just as we are celebrating 50 years ago the federal government had to go into Little Rock, we are going to be asking tomorrow the federal government to look into Jena.

KING: OK.

We'll follow that up tomorrow.

Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell and Reverend Al Sharpton.

By the way, LARRY KING LIVE invited Justin Barker, the alleged victim in the Jena 6 beating, or his relatives, to appear on the program this evening. The invitation was declined. The Barkers also declined to provide any statement on this case. Also declining our requests for comments were LaSalle Parish D.A. John Reed Walters and Judge J.P. Mauffrey, who has been presiding over Mychal Bell's case.

Meantime, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Donald Washington, confirms the United States Justice Department and the FBI are aware of allegations about threats against the Jena 6 and their families.

Washington says that the department is taking these allegations seriously and that the FBI and Louisiana law enforcement authorities are investigating them."

[henry8]

Pitiful, pathetic...no CNN did not want to air anything substantial in regard to this story...the media has dropped the ball..been droppin' the ball with regard to coverage of news we can truly use for the past 7 years...stand up Americans who believe in truth and justice..now is the time...ask your congressional leaders what they're gonna do about this mess? Ask your president what he's gonna do about this mess? We can no longer tolerate a do nuthin' government when young people and their families are being threatened by those who would abridge their rights and kill them to keep the status quo!

[DeaconM]

I am a 20 year retired Navy Vet. I spent 6 of those years attached to The Marine Corps. So I know a little bit about pride and honor. I salute you Michael Baisden, for going up agents unspeakable odds with only one goel in sight. And that's for all men/women to be treated as equals. Gena, may not have turned out the way we all would had liked it to with young Michael set free. But becauce of you, Michael knows that he is not alone. And unlike some of the other so called black leaders who say they have our intrust in heart, but all they truely want is our money or our vote or both. You saw a need and with out asking for a dime you took action. You made me proud to be a Blackman and for that I Honor and I Salute you.

God Bless You
Michael M. Howard
USN RET

[zion]

The Little Rock Nine, once barred from Central High School because they are black, arrived on its soggy campus in limousines Tuesday as the community marked 50 years since President Eisenhower directed soldiers to escort the students inside.

"You can overcome adversity if you know you are doing the right thing," said Carlotta Walls Lanier, one of the nine.

About 4,500 people gathered on the front lawn of the inner-city campus, where the high school is now 52 percent black, to commemorate one of the key moments in the civil rights movement.

Former President Clinton held open the school's doors in a symbolic gesture.

"I am grateful we had a Supreme Court that saw 'separate but equal' and 'states rights' for the shams they were, hiding our desire to preserve the oppression of African-Americans, and I am grateful more than I can say that we had a president who was determined to enforce the order of the court," Clinton said.

The two-hour ceremony included brief remarks by each of the Little Rock Nine: Melba Patillo Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls Lanier, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Minnijean Brown Trickey and Thelma Mothershed Wair.

"The thing I feared most in my life were white policemen. White policemen have guarded me these last few days. I've spoken to them. We've talked to each other," Beals said. "As I stepped out of my limousine, a white man who doesn't know me reached for the collar, the lapel, of my coat, and straightened it.

"It is the look in your eyes, the smile on your faces — white, black, green or blue — the determination in the eyes of those of color and the willingness to move ahead, that makes me know we're cool," she said.

Society has made progress, but Gov. Mike Beebe and Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola noted that economic and educational inequalities still exist.

"We have the largest black middle-class in our history, but 35 percent of black children in the city live below the poverty line," said Stodola, who is white. "There is a pervasive feeling that we are two cities. We may be desegregated, but we have a way to go to be integrated."

In September 1957, then-Gov. Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to keep nine black children out of Central High, telling a statewide TV audience that court-ordered integration would spark mob violence. He didn't acknowledge that he helped manufacture the crisis to boost his segregationist credentials.

Outside the school Tuesday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said the civil rights struggle continues 50 years later in a social system that has "first-class jails and second-class schools."

"We were winning against all odds. Now we're begging youth to attend school," Jackson said.

Dale Charles, head of the state NAACP chapter, said the commemoration overstated the progress in race relations. He called it a commercial piece: "After today, the lights will go out and people will look at something else."

The U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated classrooms unconstitutional, ruling that many districts were operating education systems that were separate but not equal. By the fall of 1957, the Charleston and Fayetteville school districts had integrated peacefully, but agitators targeted Little Rock for trouble.

For three weeks, Little Rock became the focus of a showdown between Faubus and Eisenhower. Faubus pulled the Guard away, but a crowd gathered outside the school Sept. 23 to prevent it from complying with U.S. District Judge Ronald Davies' desegregation order.

Eisenhower that night authorized the use of federal troops to enforce Davies' order, and members of the 101st Airborne escorted the Little Rock Nine to classes on Sept. 25, 1957.

The White House issued a statement Tuesday honoring the Little Rock Nine for their courage. "We resolve to continue their work to make America a more perfect Union," the statement said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070925/ap_on_re_us/integration_anniversary

[zion]

It is time for us to address the social and civic injustice and discord that permeates from the 22nd floor of Government Center and embraces unethical values that zero into and destroys the zenith of one's character, while plaguing communities and families...yes, innocent citizens of Toledo.

Upon Carleton Finkbeiner taking leadership of this city as mayor, he listed 34-campaign pledges. He stated that his administration would unite and promote, in every way possible, a clean, green, and safe city with vibrant colors everywhere – a city that inspires our citizens to improve our neighborhoods, educate our children, and create jobs that offer a future in their hometown.


Mayor Finkbeiner stated that job creation comes with an environment that invites new investment in our city. He stated that he would focus on building and maintaining the business base of Toledo, to ensure jobs, and opportunity for all.

He stated that too many Toledoans lack pride and confidence. Pride in our past, pride in our present and confidence in our future. Mayor Finkbeiner stated that he promoted full accountability for all city employees, and that even during the difficult times the citizens of Toledo would receive the best quality services we can deliver to them.

We are here to say that Mayor Finkbeiner has been a golden child in front of the cameras during election time, but he has been a deceptive advocate, a drum major for injustice behind close doors. We recommend that the $9,996 shower on the 22nd floor of Government Center be used to wash away the injustice and the malfeasance that stains this city.

Please allow me to state the facts:

In May 2006 he called Toledo's first African-American Fire Chief...King Kong. He later violated the First Amendment Provisions regarding Freedom of the Press, when his press secretary forcibly kept a WSPD reporter out of a public press conference. He also disregarded and discredited Michael Ashford as being elected city council president. He accused Gary Daugherty, a respectable man with a engineering degree, as being lazy.

He fired the Affirmative Action/Contract Compliance Director Perlean Griffin, and he also stated that those city directors who spoke to Perlean Griffin would also be dealt with. Which brings me to this...

Dwayne Morehead did not heed the strong-armed threats of Mayor Finkbeiner, but rather chose the path of righteousness by standing for what was right. Because Morehead continued to speak with Perlean Griffin, he was demoted from being the co-director of the city's Youth Commission to being an administrative specialist, and was placed on a 30-day probation period and was instructed to report to Juanita Greene who is the executive director of the Board of Community Relations. He knew that he was being set-up to be fired. Dwayne Morehead has become a casualty of the cause of injustice.

On April 18, 2007 Dwayne Morehead received a letter signed by Mayor Finkbeiner congratulating him on being nominated for the 2006 Toledoan of the Year Awards, and expressing his gratitude for for the outstanding work he has done in this city.

Those same qualities that allowed Morehead to be nominated, also gave him the courage and the strength to stand up for what is right. In doing so, On June 29 Dwayne Morehead was suspended for 30 days and recently he was fired.

Mayor Finkbeiner, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We will no longer be strong-armed. We send a message that we will not lie down on the bed of injustice, but that we will stand up and ensure that everyone is protected equally, fairly, equitably and that everyone has the same opportunity. This issue is one of race and it is about doing what is ethical, what is morally right. We all have a civil right to success. That is not a privilege, it is a civil right!

We charge Mayor Finkbeiner with being out of order and in direct disobedience and violation to the Family Medical Leave Act which states: Employees are entitled to leave from employment due to a serious health condition. The Family Medical Leave Act states that the employee provide a certification from a health care provider.

We send a clarion call that Dwayne Morehead has been fired due to retaliation. We proclaim that Morehead has legitimate disease conditions that are under the care and supervision of Dr. Baldwin, who submitted the proper paperwork stating that Morehead could not report to work, and that he is to be on medical leave. Mayor Finkbeiner and Juanita Greene blatantly ignored and discredited the professional experience of Dr. Baldwin, by rejecting and ignoring her assessment of Dwayne Morehead's condition of illness.

We will not tolerate or ignore Mayor Finkbeiner's tactics in the dismissal of Dwayne Morehead or any other city employee unjustly...regardless of your race. This is an issue of morality that not only affects one, but it affects an entire family. It affects the lives of Morehead's six children and wife at home. It affects the citizens of Toledo, it discredits the phrase “Toledo Pride.” This is not about what party you're part of, this is about right and wrong...the conscience of this city.

Since its inception in 1946, The Board of Community Relations has served the conscience of this city, and as such, has sought to create a heightened sense of awareness that inequality and discrimination still exist. The board exists to promote, empower and support citizens to create social justice, equal opportunity and a harmonious environment. They are to intervene in conflicts and disputes, by providing investigation into unlawful discriminatory practices.

Because Morehead's termination letter was signed by Juanita Greene by the orders of Mayor Carleton Finkbeiner, this creates an unethical conflict of interest for the Board of Community Relations to do there job by investigating this matter. Morehead has a charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission against the Executive Director of the Board of Community Relations, Juanita Greene. Therefore, any investigation conducted by the board would surely be bias....as Juanita Greene is the one who does the investigations, and surely it would be unprofessional and unethical for her to investigate herself concerning this matter. In addition, Mayor Finkbeiner can not ignore and he can not minimize the charges for his actions. The facts don't lie. In addition, Brian Schwartz, the mayor's public information officer, someone who gets paid to speak for the Mayor....stated on a local blog website called Swamp Bubbles...that Morehead should be fired! Brian Schwartz also stated that Morehead should be grateful the mayor took him from a blue-collar worker to management, and that Morehead betrayed the mayor. Isn't it a big coincidence...that the suspension letter given to Dwayne Morehead stated that all the problems began on or about March 7, 2007....which happens to be the day after Morehead filed charges against the Finkbeiner administration?

In addition, at a press conference on Monday, September 10, 2007 Brian Schwartz passed out the employee file of Dwayne Morehead outside of Government Center to anyone who wanted it. First and foremost, this just shows that the Finkbeiner administration is desperate and will do anything they can to discredit Morehead. In addition, we obtained the files and isn't it interesting that the letter that Mayor Finkbeiner sent Mr. Morehead congratulating him for being nominated for the Toledoan of the Year Award wasn't in his file? Also there are NO violations or disciplinary issues noted in Morehead's file from Finkbeiner's inauguration in January 2005 until March 2007 incidents that began with his demotion ....the day after Morehead filed his charges against Finkbeiner!

Perhaps the Finkbeiner administration should study the law a bit more, before passing out employee files to total strangers at will. The law states: "The public has a right to know certain information about its employees, such as name, work address, salary, job classification and title, job performance. (See R.C. 124.09(C), R.C. 149.43(B)(1)). However, a public employee also has the right to non-disclosure of personal or confidential information contained in his or her personnel file. In applying the Public Records Act to public record requests involving personnel files of governmental employees, the Ohio Supreme Court has balanced the publics interest in accessing public records against the employee’s interest in protecting his or her privacy.

In State ex rel. Fant v. Enright (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 186, Appellant made a public records request of the Clerk of Courts of Franklin County to inspect the personnel file of the former Franklin County Deputy Clerk. The Clerk of Courts refused to release the requested personnel file for inspection; Appellant filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus to compel release of the personnel file. The lower court denied the writ. On appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court emphasized that an item contained in a personnel file is a public record only when it is kept by a public office and serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities of the office.

The Court observed that not all information contained in a personnel file would be considered a public record and that, pursuant to R.C. 1347.01(E), a public office has an affirmative duty to protect from disclosure personal or confidential information contained in a personnel file. Accordingly, the personal or confidential information must be redacted or removed from the personnel file prior to inspection and/or copying. (See, also Sunshine Laws Update (May 2001), Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery; Sunshine Law An Update, Public Practice Continuing Legal Education (November 2001), Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery – advises keeping confidential files in a separate drawer, file cabinet or office to reduce the possibility of someone reviewing an inappropriate file.)"

In addition, apparently in the files were offenses allegedly committed by Morehead under the Ford administration. There is only one problem, Morehead never worked for Mayor Ford, he was a union employee. Furthermore, the city rules state that the information was supposed to be removed 18 months after the document was placed in the file. It’s been four years since the last document was placed in the file. It appears to me that this is such a gross injustice and the only thing the city can do to protect themselves is to slur Morehead. If the Finkbeiner administration is able to reveal Morehead's employee files to the general public ... than perhaps the general public should request to see the employee files of the Finkbeiner administration beginning with Mayor Finkbeiner himself.

Therefore, we are requesting that the NAACP, the Toledo Urban League along with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission fully investigate the wrongful discharge of Dwayne Morehead and report it's finding's back to the citizens of Toledo. The citizens of Toledo have a right to hold Mayor Finkbeiner accountable for his frivolous actions.

Why should the NAACP and the Urban League get involved? According to the NAACP mission statement listed on their website it states, “they are to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” According to the Urban League website their mission states they are to “enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. So, the question is...Why? Why don't the Toledo chapters of the NAACP and Urban League get involved?

Where are the religious leaders? Being a religious leader is more than just going to church. It is not about having big billboards, selling chicken dinners, who has the most members or the biggest church … what about being involved and caring about the injustice that often affects the lives of so many people. When will we as leaders stop trying to build mega-churches? When will we learn to stop using hurting people coming to us for help, as a way to get rich off their tithes and offerings? When will we stop expecting the people to serve us? As pastors ... we are to serve the people! It is time for the religious community to wake up and realize that it is not about us, and it has never been about us. It is time for us to take a stand against the injustices that continue to happen within this city ... after all, we should consider Matthew 25:31-46.

In conclusion, we are cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities. We cannot sit idly by and not be concerned about what is happening in this city. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

Toledo Pride, Toledo Pride … Mayor Finkbeiner, pride comes before a fall. And if this city falls, it is only a direct reflection of its leadership.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070309/DEVELOPINGNEWS/70309013

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/NEWS16/70310015

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=5073901

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060527/NEWS16/605270338&SearchID=73246028586931

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/NEWS16/709060354

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060531/OPINION02/60531030

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070911/NEWS16/709110346

[filmoredollar]

I think nothing of the Larry King interveiw and I think nothing of Larry King. Larry could care less about me or us (yes you all to). Please do me the favor of not subjecting me to four hours of BMW (bitching, moaning, and whinning) about what white folks aren't doing for me because at the end of the day none of us here who really know whats up understand as I do that they do not care, the system is not designed to accomadate us and a large portion of non minority America thinks that the kind of injustice that we as minorities endure on the daily ended in the sixties. So stop with what Larry, and Bill, and the NAACP guy and the writer whom I hadn't heard of before yesterday had to say because if I cared and if I valued there opinion then I would listen to them. Besides Larry King has never been a "confort the issues" type of guy.

[Novinha]

It isn't safe for the families; however, I am more concerned for Mychal Bell's safety in prison. I know there are some white supremacists and others of the sort, there in prison with him that may be willing to seek out there own form of justice. As well he may be being mistreated by the guards and other prisoners, for the same reason. I am sure the other prisoners don’t appreciate all the attention this trial is bringing to the jail and the city, in general.

I am sure there is something the legal teams can do to have the Jena 6 and their families moved until the trials.

I feel you on this. I've been having some bad feelings. We [B]all[B] know how easily and suddenly accidents and "suicidal" tendencies occur in jails and prisons (especially southern ones).

[LividinNC]

I am livid!

Yesterday (24Sep07), in Charlotte,NC, conservative (code-name for Nazi) radio talk show host and former Philadelphia police officer Jeff Katz (http://jeffkatz.wbt.com/ ) was deriding the wearing of black t-shirts by public school teachers who were recognizing the plight of the Jena6.

He also tried to imply that it was incredulous that a mostly white public high school painted a large boulder black, also in recognition of the Jena6. That’s not all.
He then proceeded to tell his mostly conservative audience “the real truth” behind the Jena6 and why, in his opinion, the incident was overblown by “the likes of poverty pimps like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson”.

He said that high school students who were questioned said that there was no ‘white only tree’. He also asserted that a federal D.A. had investigated and found no connection between the ‘nooses’ and the beating of the “black” youth at the party. Furthermore, among other inaccurate statements, Katz said that the Jena6 did not deserve to be compared to Rosa Parks and that they were criminals with a record who had been warned by the local D.A. not to escalate the issue any further, obviously implying that they deserved their treatment and charges.


As I said, I WAS LIVID, enough to call in to take issue with his statements and the spin he was taking. What I tried to say was that he was avoiding the true issue, which was the misapplication of justice on the Jena6 versus that given to the caucasian offenders. As you might guess, I was interrupted and never given a chance to make my point. Furthermore, as soon as I said “I want to challenge you…” he cut my connection off.

Why am I telling you this Michael? I would absolutely love for you to do an impromptu call in to his show, and set the boy straight! (704-570-1110)

Please tell me you’ll do it and let me know when. It would be great to hear you set him free with the truth while the issue is still fresh, but if you’ll consider it when you come to Charlotte , I’ll still be happy. And I won’t be the only brother in Charlotte that will be jumping for joy.

Hope you can help check these ‘race fans’ down here.

I thank God for you and your show.

Sincerely,
Livid

[drkbarry]

Yeah! Where the hell is good old George? Again, like with Katrina, he's late in coming to support sufferring citizens (black people) of his country. That man was right- "George Bush doesn't care about black people!"

[nomoidoagain]

Time to go to the WHITE HOUSE!!! KANYE WAS SO RIGHT!!!!
What is the President of the United States doing about all of this? Where is George Walker Bush, the man who denies he doesn't care about black people?

In another time, and another era Eisenhower, Kennedy even a southerner like Johnson got involved in these matters on a federal level.

Again I say, Where is the President of the United States and What is he doing about this horrific situation where families are being terrorized and their children unjustly targeted for standing up against unequal treatment?

I'm callin' you out GWB...c'mon President Dubya where you at on all this?

[BLU]

I WATCHED THIS INTERVIES IT WAS ALL OF 10 MINUTES MAYBE 20 THEN LARRY KING INTERVIEWED REBA MC INTYRE FOR A WHOLE TWO HOURS AFTER THAT ABOUT NOTHING.
WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT LARRY KING?
WHAT IT TOLD ME WAS HE HAS NO INTEREST IN ANYTHING BLACK.
SORRY BUT, THAT JUST HOW I FEEL.


CNN LARRY KING LIVE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Interview with "Jena 6" Parents

Joining us in Washington, Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell. They're the parents of Mychal Bell. Mychal is the only one of the so-called Jena 6 to have been tried and convicted in the beating of a white student named Justin Barker.

Mychal's conviction was thrown out earlier this month, but he remains behind bars.

With them in Washington is Reverend Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, former presidential candidate, who participated in last Thursday's rally in Jena.

Marcus, why is he still in jail?

MARCUS JONES, SON MYCHAL BELL STILL IN JAIL THOUGH CONVICTION THROWN OUT TWO WEEKS AGO: Well, we really don't know ourselves, Larry. The 3rd Circuit Court threw out his adult conviction and charge and we really don't understand why, you know, he's still sitting in adult jail at this time.

KING: Melissa, do you know?

MELISSA BELL, SON MYCHAL BELL STILL IN JAIL THOUGH CONVICTION THROWN OUT TWO WEEKS AGO: No, sir, I don't.

KING: What do they tell you when you ask?

BELL: They don't tell us. They're just saying right now that some motions have to be filed and they're waiting on the D.A. to do whatever he's got to do. And that's all they tell us.

KING: Why are you in Washington, Marcus?

JONES: Well, we're coming to meet with the national Black Caucus today -- well, tomorrow.

KING: And you want them do what?

JONES: Well, basically, we just want them to just launch a fuller -- a full investigation on the D.A. and the D.A.'s office in LaSalle Parish for illegally trying my son, illegally putting adult charges on him while he was a juvenile. I mean just -- just launch a whole -- a whole out investigation on the D.A.'s office and on the D.A.

KING: You admit, Melissa, though that Mychal has had some problems, right?

BELL: Yes, he had a few, but like most teenagers.

KING: Do you think that's the thing being held against him?

BELL: That's what they're trying to say is what's being held against him, yes.

JONES: But see, the thing about that, Larry -- see, in Jena, Louisiana, if you're doing -- if you're benefiting the town in some kind of way where Mychal was, by him being a good football player, putting Jena High School on the map, creating the revenue for the Jena, giving Jena publicity, having different scouts come in for -- for to scout him and watch him and everything. He was doing a good work for the town. So all of this so-called other charges that he is supposed to have, they were all fine and dandy back then.

KING: All right. Off the face of it, it looks weird.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, TOOK PART IN LAST WEEK'S RALLY IN JENA, LOUISIANA: Well, I think what you...

KING: We know he is convicted. They overturned the conviction. Normally that means you get a new trial or they don't try again.

But why is he still being kept? Why no bail?

SHARPTON: Well, that's why we are in Washington, I asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, to meet with us. And he'll be meeting with Martin Luther King III and the parents and their lawyers tomorrow to see if there can be any federal intervention.

This young man's civil rights is being violated. You can't hold someone that now the conviction is overturned, you have not put a bond on him or a bail based on that there's a juvenile charge.

And you must remember, Larry, this started because last September, black students sat under a tree in the schoolyard at Jena High School, and -- a tree that historically only white students sat under. The next day, there were three hangman's nooses reminding black kids of lynching hung there. They would not suspend the kids. When they had recommended that, the school board overturned it.

There was a series of fights. At one point, a young black student was beat up, the white kid given a $100 fine. At another point, a white kid pulled a shot gun...

KING: Did these...

SHARPTON: ...the black kids overpowered him.

KING: Yes.

SHARPTON: They arrested the black kids for stealing the shotgun.

I mean a litany of cases and the only ones charged is these six young men.

KING: Were they...

SHARPTON: That's why you saw thousands of us come out.

KING: But they -- I agree.

But they did beat up a white kid pretty badly, did they?

SHARPTON: And we're not justifying that. But what I'm saying is you can't have six or seven encounters, including a shotgun on black students, including hangman nooses, including beating up a black kid badly and all of those are dismissed, no charges -- in one a $100 fine. But when the black kids fight, they're charged as adults...

KING: So you're saying...

SHARPTON: ...and they're charged with attempted murder and the sneakers are the murder weapon. That's an inequity of justice.

KING: You're saying this definitely, in your opinion, a racial thing?

SHARPTON: I think that there's clearly a pattern here that warrants a federal intervention.

KING: OK.

We have the LaSalle Parish Superintendent of Schools, Roy Breithaupt, Jr., provided LARRY KING LIVE with a statement about the handling of the August 2006 noose incident and the December 2006 beating.

And it concludes: "Following an extensive investigation into the incidents, United States Attorney Donald W. Washington verified there was absolutely, one, no connection between the August 2006 noose incident and the December 2006 attack. The incident that occurred in December of 2006 was no schoolyard fight. It was a pre-meditated ambush and an attack by six students against one student. The one student attacked was beat and kicked into a bloody state of unconsciousness. Is there a difference in these two situations? I believe there is."

But he doesn't address why there is no bail for your son, Melissa.

BELL: Well, of course, they're not going to address it, because they don't want nobody to know why there's not no bail for Mychal.

SHARPTON: And they don't address, Larry, why there was no equal treatment on the other case. One doesn't have to prove whether the December fight had anything to do with the nooses. One has to ask why the same D.A. that did not prosecute white students for behavior all of the way through would overcharge -- now the court has said he overcharged the black students.

We're talking about a pattern here. They're trying to play like we're dealing with some kind of "I-Spy" game of connection. We're talking about the pattern of prosecution and the lack of. That's why tens of thousands of people came out, because the imbalance and inequity in the justice system is happening all over America.

KING: Marcus, why do you think -- why do you think they haven't given him bail?

JONES: Well, I think that...

KING: I mean bail is a constitutional requirement.

JONES: Yes.

KING: Everyone is entitled to bail except first degree murder...

JONES: I think that...

KING: Why no bail?

JONES: Well, something illegal is going on with the justice system there in LaSalle Parish. The D.A. know that he had dug himself in a hole that he probably can't get himself out of. I think, really, what he is really trying to do is hold Mychal in there for whatever other reason. But I don't understand why he just won't give my son bail.

BELL: I think by them denying Mychal bail is his one last hope for getting...

JONES: To get his act right.

BELL: ...of getting next to Mychal and holding him...

JONES: That's exactly right.

BELL: ...because he knows sooner or later he's going to have to set him free.

JONES: That's exactly right.

BELL: And this is one more battle for him, is to hold him in there as long as he can.

KING: So what, Melissa, is your next legal step?

BELL: It's to go with -- to the 3rd Circuit Court.

KING: To go to where?

BELL: The 3rd Circuit Court.

KING: In Louisiana?

BELL: Yes, sir. And to go with Reverend Al Sharpton to where we're going tomorrow, to talk to the lawyers tomorrow.

KING: Do you think federally they can do something, Al?

SHARPTON: Yes. I think should inquire -- they can certainly start a public hearing and make the D.A. explain his patterns in terms of prosecution. They could also deal with the fact that there's a Web site up that had listed the Jena 6's home address. They've all been getting threatening phone calls. They can protect them. And they can also raise the question of now Mychal is being harassed in jail.

I've visited Mychal three times in jail. Now he's been put in isolation since the march and been threatened. So the Feds, just as we are celebrating 50 years ago the federal government had to go into Little Rock, we are going to be asking tomorrow the federal government to look into Jena.

KING: OK.

We'll follow that up tomorrow.

Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell and Reverend Al Sharpton.

By the way, LARRY KING LIVE invited Justin Barker, the alleged victim in the Jena 6 beating, or his relatives, to appear on the program this evening. The invitation was declined. The Barkers also declined to provide any statement on this case. Also declining our requests for comments were LaSalle Parish D.A. John Reed Walters and Judge J.P. Mauffrey, who has been presiding over Mychal Bell's case.

Meantime, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Donald Washington, confirms the United States Justice Department and the FBI are aware of allegations about threats against the Jena 6 and their families.

Washington says that the department is taking these allegations seriously and that the FBI and Louisiana law enforcement authorities are investigating them.



Jena Threats

Link to article: http://www.bet.com/News/NewsArticleJena6Threats.htm

Anybody who thinks that last Thursday’s rally on behalf of six Black Jena, La., teens was enough to at least put a damper on racist activity need only look at what’s been happening in the hours and days surrounding the biggest civil rights gathering in years.

In addition to two White males arrested for dangling nooses from their pickup truck shortly after the rally – allegedly trying to scare up a another fight from peaceful protestors – on Friday nooses were found swinging from a tree at a North Carolina high school, and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco now reports a spike in the number of national hate groups that are publishing private contact information of the “Jena 6” on the Internet.

Among the groups that local, state and federal officials are watching closely is a neo-Nazi faction in Roanoke, Va., which, in addition to posting the names, urged its users to "Lynch the Jena 6," the Roanoke Times reported. The two Whites males with nooses tied to their truck – an 18-year-old driver and 16-year-old passenger with KKK tattooed on his chest – were taken into custody in Alexandria, La., 45 minutes north of Jena. The driver was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, driving while intoxicated and inciting to riot. Police said he also had a rifle in the back of the truck and brass knuckles on the dashboard.

Said Blanco: "Harassing families involved in the legal issues in Jena cannot and will not be tolerated. ... [A]nyone who stoops to such unspeakable persecution will be investigated and subject to the full penalty of law."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, no stranger to acts of intimidation, said, "Some of the families have received almost around-the-clock calls of threats and harassment since this Web site appeared, and to think that some person could actually harm or even continue to harass these families with no effort by law enforcement, will further exacerbate the tensions around this case immeasurably. Since our massive rally, there have been hangmen nooses found in several cities. The escalation has been met with a stubborn silence by officials in Jena, and we feel the governor must send in state law enforcement to investigate these threats and protect the public."


FBI Reviewing Anti-Jena 6 Web Page
FBI Investigating Web Site With Supposed Addresses and Phone Numbers of Jena 6
By BECKY BOHRER

Link to article: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3639002

The FBI is reviewing a white supremacist Web site that purports to list the addresses of five of the six black teenagers accused of beating a white student in Jena and "essentially called for their lynching," an agency spokeswoman said Saturday.

Sheila Thorne, an agent in the FBI's New Orleans office, said authorities were reviewing whether the site breaks any federal laws. She said the FBI had "gathered intelligence on the matter," but declined to further explain how the agency got involved.

CNN first reported Friday about the Web site, which features a swastika, frequent use of racial slurs, a mailing address in Roanoke, Va., and phone numbers purportedly for some of the teens' families "in case anyone wants to deliver justice." That page is dated Thursday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement Saturday that some of the families have received "almost around the clock calls of threats and harassment," and called on Gov. Kathleen Blanco to intervene.

A Blanco spokeswoman said the governor had asked law enforcement primarily state police to investigate.

"These people need more than an investigation. They need protection," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said. He said his organization would be in touch with President Bush's nominee for attorney general, Michael Mukasey.

"This is a test for the disposition of the Department of Justice to serve as an intervenor and a deterrent" to hate crimes and discrimination, Jackson said. He said federal marshals should protect the families.

Carolas Purvis, whose number was among three listed on the Web site, said she did not feel in danger. Purvis is the aunt of Bryant Purvis, who has yet to be arraigned. She said she has received a number of calls, some from people who say nothing, others to let her know that her number had been put on the site. One, Friday night, used the N-word to her young son, she said.

A dispatcher for the LaSalle Parish Sheriff's Department said no one in the office Saturday could say whether any threats had been reported.

Of the two other numbers listed as "active" on the Web site, one was not answered Saturday; the other yielded a constant busy signal.

On Thursday, thousands of demonstrators marched in a civil rights demonstration in support of the so-called Jena 6. The six black teens were arrested after a December attack on a white student the culmination of fights between blacks and whites.

Of the six teens arrested, five initially were charged with attempted second-degree murder; charges for four have been reduced as they were arraigned. Charges against the sixth teen, booked as a juvenile, are sealed.

Mychal Bell is the only one to have been tried so far. A state appeals court recently threw out his conviction for aggravated second-degree battery, saying he couldn't be tried as an adult. He remained in jail pending an appeal.

William A. "Bill" White, listed as the Web site's editor and commander of the American National Socialist Workers Party, did not immediately answer an e-mail to his address. Calls to one of the two William Whites listed in Roanoke were not answered; the other said he was not involved with the site.

Blanco said Saturday that harassing families involved in the case "cannot and will not be tolerated."

"Public attacks on private citizens done out of ignorance and hatred is appalling, and anyone who stoops to such unspeakable persecution will be investigated and subject to the full penalty of law," she said in a statement.

[the mermaid]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=194911058

[eddiecaine59]

ne body know of vidoe footage of the marh in jena???