On September 20th SUNY College at Old Westbury hosted an event discussing the injustice taking place in Jena, Louisiana. The event was held in the Recital Hall and was hosted by several fraternity and sorority organizations on campus in association with the Media Communications /American Studies Department.
Six black students were charged with attempted second degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after a school yard fight where a white teenager was left beaten. The charges of the six boys led to many protests around the country criticizing the rulings by the Jena judicial system. The situation in Jena has sparked racial outrage that has led to support from personalities such as Radio host Michael Baisden and Rev. Al Sharpton. The national attention that the case for these six boys is receiving is bringing back memories of the great civil rights movements from the 1960’s.
The campus of SUNY Old Westbury made its presence known about the Jena 6 throughout the week by students holding candle light vigil’s and marches. The day of the 20th everyone on campus was encouraged to wear black in protest as there was an open forum on the Jena 6 was held. Guest speaker Divine Pryor, a forensic psychologist and criminal justice professor at Medgar Evers College stated that “discrimination too often remains in people’s hearts” and “the country needs to do more to eradicate the stereotyping that leads to a preponderance of people of color in the nation’s prisons”.
The students at the end of the speech voiced their opinions on the Jena 6 making comparisons to whether blacks or whites were treated equally by law in this country. The diverse comments from the audience helped to further prove how the situation in Jena affects everyone no matter what race.
The students at the end of the speech voiced their opinions on the Jena 6 making comparisons to whether blacks or whites were treated equally by law in this country. The diverse comments from the audience helped to further prove how the situation in Jena affects everyone no matter what race.
Six black students were charged with attempted second degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after a school yard fight where a white teenager was left beaten. The charges of the six boys led to many protests around the country criticizing the rulings by the Jena judicial system. The situation in Jena has sparked racial outrage that has led to support from personalities such as Radio host Michael Baisden and Rev. Al Sharpton. The national attention that the case for these six boys is receiving is bringing back memories of the great civil rights movements from the 1960’s.
The campus of SUNY Old Westbury made its presence known about the Jena 6 throughout the week by students holding candle light vigil’s and marches. The day of the 20th everyone on campus was encouraged to wear black in protest as there was an open forum on the Jena 6 was held. Guest speaker Divine Pryor, a forensic psychologist and criminal justice professor at Medgar Evers College stated that “discrimination too often remains in people’s hearts” and “the country needs to do more to eradicate the stereotyping that leads to a preponderance of people of color in the nation’s prisons”.
The students at the end of the speech voiced their opinions on the Jena 6 making comparisons to whether blacks or whites were treated equally by law in this country. The diverse comments from the audience helped to further prove how the situation in Jena affects everyone no matter what race.
The students at the end of the speech voiced their opinions on the Jena 6 making comparisons to whether blacks or whites were treated equally by law in this country. The diverse comments from the audience helped to further prove how the situation in Jena affects everyone no matter what race.
by Edmond Easton
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