Bryant Purvis and Carwin Jones, two of the 'Jena 6' where out at the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta this past weekend. The pair were on hand to present the Hip Hop Video of the Year [which went to Kanye West]. Clearly they were hooked up with a stylist and swag, but best of all they were able to speak on the injustice. I'm glad they are getting some shine and support from the Hip Hop community. I met 2 others last month and they are some of the sweetest young men...

Labels: Jena 6

Mychal Bell, the Jena, La teen at the center of the Jena 6 Movement is back in jail after being sentenced for a previous charges. Bell was in juvenile court Thursday expecting another routine hearing, said Carol Powell Lexing, one of Bell’s attorneys.

Instead, after a six-hour hearing, state District Judge J.P. Mauffrey Jr. sentenced him to 18 months on two counts of simple battery and two counts of criminal destruction of property, Lexing said.

“He’s locked up again,” Marcus Jones said of his 17-year-old son. “No bail has been set or nothing. He’s a young man who’s been thrown in jail again and again, and he just has to take it.” [SOURCE]

Just as Bell was sent back to jail, Essence has releases an interview with his mother based on the Jena 6 injustice...

Essence.com: Are you surprised by the support you’ve received from around the country?

M.B.: I feel very good about it. It’s encouraging to know that so many people are standing behind you and still believe in helping each other. It’s great to see all the civil rights leaders, people in high places and all the thousands of people who came to the march. You sometimes forget that people still love each other like that. We need more of that in the world.

Essence.com: How has this experience changed you?

M.B.: It opened my eyes to see that you can’t trust everybody because everybody’s not your friend. Things can happen to you in the blink of an eye. Your life can change in one day. It made me think about life more and getting my kids together and getting them right with God. We’re with God, but getting them straighter with God. And I realize that your kids can be taken from you with a stroke of a pen.

Essence.com: And what about Mychal? Does he seem different?

M.B.: Yes, but not a lot different. He still likes having fun, talking and laughing with his friends, but being locked up for nine months made him grow up a lot quicker and become a man, a better person. He just knows how to handle life better.

If you’re interested in contributing to the Mychal Bell Defense Fund, please send checks to P.O. Box 2856, Jena, LA 71342

Labels: Jena 6

Mychal Bell has been released on bail after the DA has agreed to not appeal the appellate courts decision to over turn his original conviction and move the case to juvenile court...a small victory in a long war against injustice!

Mychal Bell's release on $45,000 bail came hours after a prosecutor confirmed he will no longer seek an adult trial for the 17-year-old. Bell, one of the teenagers known as the Jena Six, still faces trial as a juvenile in the December beating in this small central Louisiana town.

"We still have mountains to climb, but at least this is closer to an even playing field," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who helped organize last week's protest.

"He goes home because a lot of people left their home and stood up for him," Sharpton said. [SOURCE]

Of course, the DA is a complete and utter idiot and goes on to say that it was God that allowed the 25-plus thousand protesters to march peacefully...Ignorance is Bliss!

Labels: Jena 6

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced that the Jena 6 case of Mychal Bell will be tried in juvenile court. Blanco said that the prosecutor has decided not to challenge an appellate ruling that sends the case to juvenile court.

Mychal Bell, whose second-degree battery conviction was overturned after an appeals court said he should have not been tried as an adult, had remained in jail pending a possible appeal by prosecutors.

The case now goes to the juvenile courts, which must now decide Bell's fate.

If you would like to send Mychal Bell support, you can write him at:

Mychal Bell
Inmate, A-Dorm
LaSalle Correctional Center
15976 Highway 165
Olla, LA 71465-4801

Labels: Jena 6

First, in a disheartening update to the Jena 6 Case, Mychal Bell is still in jail, after 9 months, and has been denied bail or bond...

A judge on Friday denied a request to release a teenager whose arrest in the beating of a white classmate sparked this week's civil rights protest in Louisiana.

Mychal Bell is one of the group known as the “Jena Six.” His request to be freed while an appeal is being reviewed was rejected at a juvenile court hearing, effectively denying him any chance at immediate bail, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because juvenile court proceedings are closed.

Earlier, Bell's mother emerged from the hearing in tears, refusing to comment. [SOURCE]

Now, riddle me this, the DA in Jena says that the students that hung nooses from the school-yard tree could not be charged because there were no laws but last night, 2 men in Alexandria, La. were arrest for hanging nooses from a truck and circling protesters.

Talk about disparities in justice! Clearly this is the theme...

Labels: Jena 6