Parents and supporters of six Black high school boys have been crying racial bias in this case of a racially motivated fight from December 4th of last year.The first trial of the six defendants was just completed Thursday as an all White, six-member jury convicted 17 year-old Mychal Bell of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery.
These charges were the result of a reduction from attempted murder and conspiracy charges that were originally put in place against the 16 and 17 year-old boys.
The racial tension among White and Black students began in September when a Black student sat under a tree on campus that White students traditionally sat under. In retaliation for this heinous act of sitting under a tree, some White students hung nooses from the tree as a taunt, or mistake as some call it.
The three perpetrators were suspended for the incident as the town was becoming more and more polarized on the meaning behind the historically threatening gesture.
The split widened when 17 year-old victim Justin Barker was attacked and beaten unconscious and six students arrested were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy.
Now the divided the town of 3,000 is a like a powder keg, with some call the incident a simple high school fight, while prosecutor Reed Walters told the boys, “I will see to it that you never again menace the students at any school in this parish.”His reason for bringing charges of second-degree battery which includes the use of a weapon is that the boys used their shoes to kick Barker while on the ground. Since Mychal Bell took part in the fight with others, Walters feels that this constitutes conspiracy, even though there is no evidence the fight was planned.
If one looks for the consequences that are coming down hard upon the three White boys that apparently sparked this entire situation, however, they will find nothing.
Charges of conspiracy have not been addressed regarding the “plan” these boys had to hang nooses, devices that are used to KILL people, from a tree on school property. D.A. Walters, however, swears that he never charged anyone based on who they are.
If Waters wanted to back up his words with action he’d look into trying to halt the use of hate speech and intimidation that the other students used with their silent signs hanging from the tree saying, “I’m going to kill you.” That sounds like menacing premeditation to me.
I don’t want to be misunderstood though, if these boys got into a fight at school and viciously beat another student, they should be punished, but it is pretty evident that trying to send these kids to prison for over 20 years is extremely excessive.
The X-Factor that makes this mindset of the D.A. and the members of this six person jury is fear. Fear is what turned this high school fight into a case of racial bias.
My blind knowledge of the people of this town or the mentality of Walters gives them the benefit of the doubt that they are not planning to send every Black man away to prison. They do have preconceived negative ideas about these Black kids that they don’t relate to at all.
These misplaced ideas turn into fears that they try to relieve by sending teenagers away to prison for getting into a fight.
The thought of White kids hanging nooses doesn’t ring offensive or threatening to some people in the town. The thought of Black kids kicking a White kid on the ground is downright terrifying enough to take the kids out of society for over 20 years, on the LESSER charge.Will this create a safer, more understanding society? If anything, this will make the White people more frightened, and the Black people more upset and distrustful in their justice system.
The sooner we try to understand the differences in each other rather than fearing the differences, the better off our society will be. Fearful justice and insular thinking only fuel a fire that seems to get only larger.
By Jayar Jackson, 3BAAS Contributing Writer