Protesters Rally In Support Of "Jena 6"

(CBS/AP)  Thousands of chanting demonstrators filled the streets of this little Louisiana town Thursday in a massive show of support for six black teenagers initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate.

Businesses and schools were shut down as demonstrators by the thousands poured into Jena, reports CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts. Many drove day and night on buses from across the country: A caravan from Los Angeles, activists from Detroit, college kids from Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta and cities in between.

The mayor declared a state of emergency just so his city can qualify for the kinds of state resources he'll need to manage an event like this, adds Pitts.

The crowd broke into chants of "Free the Jena Six" as the Rev. Al Sharpton arrived at the local courthouse with family members of the arrested teens.

Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader, said the scene was reminiscent of earlier civil rights struggles. He said punishment of some sort may be in order for the six defendants, but "the justice system isn't applied the same to all crimes and all people."

President Bush told reporters at the White House today that the events in Jena have "saddened" him. He says he can "understand the emotions."

The six teens were charged amid racial tensions that had been growing after the local prosecutor declined to charge three white teens who hung nooses in a tree on their high school grounds. Five of the black teens were initially charged with attempted murder in the December beating, but that charge was reduced to battery for all but one, who has yet to be arraigned; the sixth was charged as a juvenile.

"This is the most blatant example of disparity in the justice system that we've seen," Sharpton told The Early Show before arriving in Jena. "You can't have two standards of justice."

"We didn't bring race into it," he said. "Those that hung the nooses brought the race into it."

Sharpton, who helped organized the rally, said this could be the beginning of the 21st century's civil rights movement, one that would challenge disparities in the justice system.

Reed Walters, the district attorney who is prosecuting the teens, denied on Wednesday that racism was involved in the charges.

He said he didn't charge the white students accused of hanging the nooses because he could find no Louisiana law under which they could be charged. In the beating case, he said, four of the defendants were of adult age under Louisiana law and the only juvenile charged as an adult, Mychal Bell, had a prior criminal record.

"It is not, and never has been, about race," Walters said. "It is about finding justice for an innocent victim and holding people accountable for their actions."

The beating victim, Justin Barker, was knocked unconscious, his face badly swollen and bloodied, though he was able to attend a school function later that night.

Bell, 16 at the time of the attack, is the only one of the "Jena Six" to be tried so far. He was convicted on an aggravated second-degree battery count that could have sent him to prison for 15 years, but the conviction was overturned last week when a state appeals court said he should not have been tried as an adult.

Thursday's protest had been planned to coincide with Bell's sentencing, but organizers decided to press ahead even after the conviction was thrown out. Bell remains jailed while prosecutors prepare an appeal. He has been unable to meet the $90,000 bond.

"We all have family members about the age of these guys. We said it could have been one of them. We wanted to try to do something," said Angela Merrick, 36, who drove with three friends from Atlanta to protest the treatment of the teens.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke to a crowd Thursday morning. Dennis Courtland Hayes, interim president and CEO of the NAACP, compared the outcry over the Jena arrests to the controversy that followed racial remarks by radio personality Don Imus.

"People are saying, 'That's enough, and we're not taking it any more,' " Hayes said.

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[whispyseas]

'' ... to keep their fathers safe, the girls banned naked get well feed world men at the trail crossings, and replaced them instead with dressed get sick tax world girls ... now they refuse to send their fathers to the trail crossings because they are not safe though, statistically, the men have better odds with the 90,000 at the area trail crossings than with the 300 in the girls own traveling troupes ... ''

'' ... hundreds millions sick beds, small bunches with hundreds and tens thousands folk rallied round fertilizing and watering museums of molecules and microbes that web together the swimming drifting dirts and trees and folk and such ... ''

'' ... the greatist generation gave way to the ******* ***********, investing trillions in votes and dollars to play biological chemical nightmare as they wage wars in the schools and offices of their own ''illegitmate'' war babies ... ''

'' ... china and india are so massive they have but to crank out a low cost knick knack each per day to sap every dollar from every economy in the world, non charity and taxation are finished ... ''

[my2centss]

Just think, if they had driven a little further south to New Orleans, they could have helped rebuild, or marched against all the killings there. That would have really helped the community.

[keithle1]

Black people have done, and continue to do, more damage to other black people than white people have ever done to black people.

How many black people have white people killed?

One other thing, racism doesn''t force people to commit crimes. You can''t blame everything on racism.

[hwy71so]

Yes, racism exists. Seems some nurse it like a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter''s day.

Time to outgrow it, don''t you think?

[satchseven]

if the da had not acted like a racist jack behind we would not be in this mess.if the six bros jumped another black kid he would not have charged them with attemped murder. matter of fact nothing would have been done at all.this was done to keep blacks in their place in jena "N y,all better not touch any white folks.

[satchseven]

white people stop playing the ''racism denial card''it exists.remember we work with you every day and have seen you guys do all kind of dirty stuff

[satchseven]

white folks wake up this deal was not started by jesse and al.this was a internet driven deal just like the fury about don imus.educated black folks e-mailing each other asking what is wrong with this picture.the internet is more powerful than al and jesse.you all must thought 50 cents and snoop dogg represented black america,and there were no concious black america.uneven discipline is the heart of racism in the us.we just saw a white women get out of jail after 7 months after shooting her husband.a black person will never get a deal like that.found guilty then get out of jail for no reason

[jzak5]

Jzak5 to Umm

Thanks you for your reply, and I respect the same. However, please know that my posting is a 3 parts comment as that described below! If you should read it carefully than you would find it in harmony with the subject in question.
I see your comment is agreeable with me to some extend, but please refer to my Penal Code Posting in part 3. - However; one cannot separate the movement of the NAACP from that they have already capitalized on the media for this case! If you see what I wrote than you would understand! Especially on the part of been %u201Cfair and natural%u201D with the TN Penal code judgment!
But, ones the surface movement like that done by the NAACP starts, and later down play it after a release of the arrested students - to a hush-hush profile when the music is over. Many will look at Al and Jessie for their participation on this as orchestrated by them no dough. By the way that white student on the hospital bed, would be asking him self (why is there a marching rallied with he picture of Martin L. King, what that has to do with him having a beating by the six black students if not for more propaganda for the NAACP )! Love! Jzak5

[nellysgirl1]

Umm Jzak5
I completely understand and respect your comment, but it seems like you are getting off the subject a bit. This situation about whether or not this boy gets to jail has nothing to do with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton''s credibility. If they like to be in the camera all the time, thats their business. This situation that they are trying to fight, whether or not you believe their real reasoning behind it, is to find justice both ways. No one is saying that the boys who beat up the kid shouldn''t be punished, but if the same crime was committed before and something not nearly as harsh was done, why do the black kids get a harsher punishment? If we as a country decide that beating up someone is wrong, why should the color of their skin matter? If this boy "Belle" is going to jail for however many years and the other boy just got suspended for a couple of years, do you find that just? If one goes to jail, they should all go.

[nellysgirl1]

Umm Jzak5
I completely understand and respect your comment, but it seems like you are getting off the subject a bit. This situation about whether or not this boy gets to jail has nothing to do with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton''s credibility. If they like to be in the camera all the time, thats their business. This situation that they are trying to fight, whether or not you believe their real reasoning behind it, is to find justice both ways. No one is saying that the boys who beat up the kid shouldn''t be punished, but if the same crime was committed before and something not nearly as harsh was done, why do the black kids get a harsher punishment? If we as a country decide that beating up someone is wrong, why should the color of their skin matter? If this boy "Belle" is going to jail for however many years and the other boy just got suspended for a couple of years, do you find that just? If one goes to jail, they should all go.