Democrats Slam Feds Over Jena 6 Case

Lawmakers Blast Federal Officials For Failing To Respond To Noose-Hanging Incident

(CBS/AP)  Democratic lawmakers denounced federal authorities Tuesday for not intervening in the highly-publicized case of six black high school students charged with the beating of a white student, citing racist noose-hanging incidents far beyond the attack in the small Louisiana town of Jena.

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing with federal officials and community activists examining the case of the teenagers known as the Jena Six. The incident happened after nooses were hung from a tree on a high school campus - a symbol of the lynching violence of the segregation era.

Democratic lawmakers, many of them black, blasted federal authorities for staying out of the local prosecutor's case against the six, particularly that of Mychal Bell, who is currently in jail after a judge decided he violated the terms of his probation for a previous conviction.

"Shame on you," Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said to Justice Department officials, directing most of her fury at Donald Washington, the U.S. attorney for Louisiana's western district - and the first black person to hold that position.

"As a parent, I'm on the verge of tears," Jackson Lee said.

"Why didn't you intervene?" she asked repeatedly, raising her voice and jabbing her finger in the air as some in the audience began to applaud.

Committee chairman John Conyers, a Democrat, called for quiet before Washington spoke.

"I was also offended, I too am an African-American," Washington told the panel. "I did intervene, I did engage the district attorney. At the end of the day, there are only certain things that the United States attorney can do."

Following that exchange, Conyers pointed out he had invited the local district attorney, Reed Walters, to testify, but he declined. At that, some in the audience yelled out, "subpoena him!"

Recently, the Justice Department has opened investigations into at least a dozen more cases of nooses found hanging in public places across the nation, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.

Since the Jena case made headlines, there have been nooses found in high-profile incidents in a black Coast Guard cadet's bag, on a Maryland college campus, and, last week, on the office door of a black professor at Columbia University in New York.

Today civil rights activist Al Sharpton said he believes it's a sign of a resurgence of racism in America.

"And that is something I don't think the federal government can tolerate," said Sharpton.

He called for the federal government to play the kind of active role it played in previous generations, adds Reid.

The Department of Justice has created a task force to handle noose-hanging investigations in five states. It investigated the Jena matter but decided not to prosecute because the federal government typically does not bring hate crimes charges against juveniles, Washington said.

Black lawmakers and activists said more forceful action by the Bush administration was needed to squelch what they claim is a sharp rise in racism in the United States.

The senior Republican on the panel, Lamar Smith of Texas, said, "more than anything what we need is an effort to reduce racial tension... What we do not need is stoking racial resentment."

Several other Republicans on the panel questioned whether the white beating victim, Justin Barker, had been forgotten in all the uproar, but Rev. Brian Moran, president of the Jena chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that the most pressing issue is justice for the six teens facing criminal charges.

More than 20,000 demonstrators gathered recently in Jena to protest what they perceive as differences in how black and white suspects were treated, but the cases against the Jena Six remain unresolved.

Last week, a judge sentenced Bell to 18 months in jail after a judge determined he violated the terms of his probation for a previous conviction.

Racial tensions began rising in Jena in August 2006 after a black student sat under a tree known as a gathering spot for white students. Three white students later hung nooses from the tree. They were suspended by the school but not prosecuted.

[kailumego1]

And small countries like Equatorial Guinea, in Africa, has reported a GDP purchasing power of 256 billion, with a population of 551,201 thousand, it''s greedy corporate "warlords" that keep many countries, in Africa, in financial quagmires.

Research www.cia.gov. for real stats..

[kailumego1]

And for the record "dogsoul", the economy is BAD for those seeking manufacturing jobs, since they have been purposefully "outsourced" to developing countries by "greedy" corporations in order to exploit their labor..

Try being less "subjective" and more "objective" when making a reply, because your reasoning makes little sense...

[kailumego1]

cmp271 you sound just as arrogant and ignorant as the black folks you castigate....

White inequality?

What planet are you from?

The problem that lies within black communities has absolutely nothing to do with "white folks"....

[kailumego1]

dogsoul, you''re the typical white racist, I''m referring too, funny you thought to only mention "Africa", trying to make a point about social/economical upheaval and degradation, when there are some Latin American, Central American, Eastern European, and South East Asian countries, like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Sumatra, Java, Brunei, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Lativa, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bolivia, Paraguay, Guatemala,
Belize, etc. etc., experiencing slow-economic growth, typical white racist always conjuring up Africa in order to "sling mud" at black folks, which by the way, all civilization "originated " in Africa.

[cmp271]

Jena 6 illustraits the black racial hate of whites. SIX black kids gang up on and beat a white boy. This is a hate crime and should be prosecuted as such. The white kid had nothing to do with the nooses.

This is the mentality of blacks. YOU MADE ME DO THIS! No one makes anyone commit a violent act unless that person wanted to. The nooses may be wrong, the beating is illegal. The beating is a hate crime!!! Black racism exists.

As for the two bigots Sharpton and Jackson, they thrive on racism and keep perpetuating it. They need to be put in jail under the Rico Act for inciting the violent protest of the Black Panthers on Duke University.

Whites are tired of the inequality under the law. Blacks are very hateful people. They expect it all to be handed to them, the word is work for what you have.

[dogsoul]

"I know the economy is bad, and manufacturing jobs have been outsourced to other countries"

Unemployment is now & has been for a pretty long time very very good... the economy is NOT bad - and it''s certainly a heckuva lot more robust than any other country on the planet... espeeeeecially anywhere in Africa...

"...but I also feel those that hung the nooses should also be reprimanded..."

Scolded maybe... but the fact is that it''s not illegal to display nooses - insensitive, bigoted, disgusting, sure - but not illegal... yet by the way you hear people talking, ganging up on & beating a person viciously is nothing compared to displaying a noose...

[kailumego1]

Toolmangler had taken a short departure from posting; I will answer your question, thoughtfully.

It has been known throughout history what "hanging a noose" symbolized, it has symbolized a form of punishment for individual criminal actions, gratuitous murder, killing, and maiming, etc., while a lot of so-called religious folks may find it offensive for someone to hand a Cross with Jesus on it in a bottle of ''''urine'''', it was even a time when that individual would have been "hanged" or "noosed", but now, at least in this country, people are more "civilized" and can contain themselves from engaging in such primitive behavior... Now does this go for every religious organization or ethnicity no, some would have reacted violently if their religious "icon" had been desecrated?

[kailumego1]

But, let''s "break it down", you and I, and everyone knows what "hanging a noose" symbolizes, it symbolizes an Epoch in American history where white hatred for blacks ran ramped, of which the federal, state, and local justice systems enabled white barbarians to brutalize blacks in their homes, walking, at places of business, etc.

In the South, local law enforcement was as much a part of the "lynching" of blacks as citizens, it amazes me you of all people would have to ask me that question considering, yes we have agreed and disagreed, but I''ve always felt throughout our debates, especially from reading some of your comments, that you were able to rationally and logically "tell it like it is"...

I can find fault on sides, the Jena Six and the white youths in this violent incident.

I don''t condone six individuals beating up or stomping upon one, which reminds me of incidents involving white mobs attacking blacks, either way it''s wrong...

[kailumego1]

This was not a "school brawl" like many blacks have concluded, because a school brawl precludes one on one, not six-seven-etc. against one, that''s ridiculous.

I had the unfortunate experience, when I was riding down a busy street, to witnessing a gang of black kids beating up on one black kid, they were kicking, punching, and stomping him, as a large crowd of hawkers were shouting and chanting, I called the police from my cell phone, which I had to call several times, before anyone responded, and I waited in horror, because the kid was beaten unconscious and bleeding profusely.


So, I know the difference between a "school-yard" fight and a vicious attack, however, I''m not so thrill about this white kid''s behavior, and the behaviors of other white folks in this town.

That''s why I think "both" groups have some growing up and accountability, I do believe the six should receive punishment, only because of the vicious attack, as I''m quite sure they''ve committed before within their communities, of which they were not reprimanded, but I also feel those that hung the nooses should also be reprimanded.

[kailumego1]

You see, I know you''ve called me a racist in past arguments, without carefully and judiciously reading my comments, which I''ve stated persistently, I detest "white racists" and "black Judases", both are equally a detriment to this society....

The difference between you and I, I call it like it is, I don''t candy-coat or pour sugar on SH [IT], unlike you, and many others. I see both racism and black self-degradation as problems within black communities, with the later out-weighing the first, currently, in today''s climate...

My argument in matters such as these is primarily with black folks, because whites, as a whole, are not going to fix the black problem, i.e. racism or black self-degradation.

When I walk or drive in predominately black neighborhoods I see gangs, mobs, etc. of young black men standing on and lurking around corners doing nothing, no school, no work, nothing period, and that''s the problem...

I know the economy is bad, and manufacturing jobs have been outsourced to other countries, but that doesn%u2019t give them an excuse to self-destruct into degradation, selling drugs, murdering, robbing, etc., because there are alternatives such as vocational training, college, entrepreneurship, etc., or even leaving the state in search for employment...