Diana Williams isn’t much of an activist.
In fact, until Wednesday, the Denver woman had never organized a protest against anything. But something about the story of the Jena 6 — six black Louisiana youths many feel were charged unfairly with attempted murder after beating a white student — stirred her heart. She started calling and e-mailing friends, trying to figure out what she could do, and settled on holding a march.
“I just said, ‘OK, I’m going to go for it,’ ” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this. But I said I’m going to go out and march, even if it’s just by myself.”
Williams is one of several people in the metro area taking grassroots action to support the Louisiana youths, as marchers from across the country arrived today in Jena, the small town in central Louisiana where a series of racially charged incidents have divided the community.
Tonight, a group of artists and activists plan to hold a rally and “speak out” at Blackberries cafe in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood to show support for the Jena 6. There will be speeches, music and spoken-word performances. There will also be information on how to help the youths and how to contact Jena and Louisiana officials.
“A lot of people think they don’t have a voice or they can’t do anything,” said Denver filmmaker donnie l. betts, one of the organizers of tonight’s rally. “But if you give them the tools, they can do that.”
So on Wednesday evening, with chants and signs and the rhythmic thumping of bongo drums, Williams led a group of marchers out of Denver’s City Park and down Colfax Avenue to the state Capitol to raise awareness about the story of the Jena 6. They handed out fliers to shop owners, to indigents, to people waiting for the bus and to people smoking outside of bars. They waved and cheered whenever a passing motorist honked.
It didn’t much matter that there were only 13 of them marching, not counting the toddler in a stroller.
“It’s not so much about the number of people,” Williams said to the marchers. “It’s that the spirit of what we’re out here for needs to be known.”
The Jena 6 is the name given to six black Louisiana teenagers who were originally charged with attempted murder after allegedly beating up a white student after he walked out of the high school in Jena last year. The attack, which did not require overnight hospitalization but left the student with bruises and a concussion, came after months of racially charged incidents in Jena. (The town’s name is pronounced JEE-nuh.)
The incidents started a year ago when a black student sat under a shade tree traditionally claimed by white students. The next day, three nooses were found hanging from the tree, and three white students were found to be the culprits. The high school’s principal recommended they be expelled, but the school superintendent overruled, calling the incident an “adolescent prank” and ordered the students briefly suspended.
What followed were months of racial tension in the town of about 3,500 that is 86 percent white. A series of fights between white and black students took place. An arsonist set fire to the high school’s central wing. A white youth beat up a black student who showed up at an all-white party, and another white youth allegedly pulled a shotgun on several black students.
But activists say that in those cases, the white youths got off relatively easy, if they were punished at all. That was not the case for the six black students who allegedly jumped and beat student Justin Barker on Dec. 4. Five of the six students were charged as adults with attempted murder, while the sixth was charged as a juvenile.
In recent months, four of the defendants have had their charges reduced. A state appeals court has also thrown out the conviction of 17-year-old Mychal Bell, the only one of the Jena 6 to go to trial so far. Bell was convicted of aggravated battery in June by an all-white jury.
LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters defended his handling of the case at a news conference Wednesday, saying that the case “is not and never has been about race.” He noted that four defendants charged in the attack were adults under Louisiana law when the beating occurred and criticized those who underestimate the injuries Barker suffered during the attack.
“With all the emphasis on the defendant, the injury done to him and the serious threat to his existence has become a footnote,” Walters said.
Denver resident Rene Marie said she heard about the case only recently but said she was floored by what she sees as unequal treatment of the Jena 6.
“It kind of hails back to something from the 1930s to me,” said Marie, a noted jazz singer. “Everybody I know is shaking their head, incredulous that something like this is happening.”
Marie said she initially felt helpless to do something but then began talking to friends, including betts, and decided to help put together tonight’s rally.
“It’s to give people a chance to actually do something about the situation, other than just talk about it or shake their head,” she said.
A.J. Greene, an Aurora resident, said he heard about the case in March, while listening to a Los Angeles radio station online.
“To do nothing would just be saying you’re accepting it,” Greene said. “I can’t do that.”
Greene said he has been passing out fliers for the past six months, giving them to all his friends and leaving them on car windshields in a Target parking lot near his house. He got a T-shirt store to print up shirts in support of the Jena 6. And he attended Wednesday night’s march.
Greene said he is happy the case is now getting widespread attention but hopes the notice won’t die as quickly as it’s grown.
“My biggest worry is after tomorrow that will be it,” he said. “And then what will happen to the other kids? I’m happy for it to catch on anytime, as long as it keeps going.”
The Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
