Jena Six

The Jena Six is a term used to refer to six African-American high school students from Jena, Louisiana arrested for their involvement in the beating of a white classmate on December 4, 2006. The five individuals who were over 16 at the time of the attack were charged with attempted second degree murder. The perception that the charges against the six were racially motivated and disproportionate to the crime resulted in a massive rally which took place on September 20, 2007 in Jena, and at other locations across the United States.

The Jena Six

1. Bryant Purvis
2. Mychal Bell
3. Robert Bailey, Jr.
4. Carwin Jones
5. Theo Shaw
6. Jesse Rae Beard

Build-up of Tensions

The arrest of the Jena Six marked the culmination of a semester-wide increase in racial tensions at the predominantly white Jena High School. On August 31, 2006, a group of black students sat under a large oak tree on campus which was a frequent meeting place for white students. The next morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. Three white students were suspended for the incident. On November 30, 2006, the high school was set on fire and gutted for unknown reasons and over the next few days, various altercations between black and white students occurred.¹

The Attack and the Trial

On December 4, white student Justin Barker was allegedly attacked by the six men who have come to be known as the Jena Six. Barker was treated at a local hospital and released, but the six alleged attackers were arrested. One was a juvenile, but the five others who were over 17 at the time of the attack were charged with attempted second-degree murder. Later, the charges for all of the defendants were reduced. Bell was convicted of aggravated battery and faced 15 years in prison, although his conviction was later overturned as it was determined he should have been tried as a juvenile.¹

The Jena Six Rally

On September 20, 2007, the date scheduled for Bell's initial sentencing, tens of thousands of marchers arrived in Jena to protest the charges and potential sentences involved in the case.¹

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