At least the Congressional Black Caucus is trying. Fourteen members of the CBC recently sent a letter to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blano requesting that she pardon or commute the sentences of the Jena 6.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said, “In order to restore true justice in this case, I am calling for the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, to pardon Mychal Bell immediately. Mychal Bell has been failed by his school district, the Louisiana judicial system, and the United States Department of Justice, and the fight for justice is not over.”
Bell recently made a plea deal with the prosecutor that essentially gives him credit for the 10 months he has already served, paving the way for his imminent release, in exchange for agreeing to testify against his five co-defendants.
Bell, the only defendant with a known criminal record, admitted striking the white student in a fight that led to charges being filed against the Jena 6. Now it appears that the most culpable of the six is set to sell out the other five young men.
Typically, a person’s sentence is not commuted or a person is not pardoned until after the sentence is imposed. In this case, only Bell has been sentenced. While this request from the CBC might be applicable to Bell, at this point it does not help the other five.
What about all of the others who led the impressive demonstration in Jena? Where are all of the radio “personalities” who broadcast live from Jena – one even exploited the event by having an inappropriate book signing – when the other five young men need them?
Even when the CBC seeks to have an impact in Jena, they are subjected to unfair criticism. I was listening to a talk show on XM radio the other night when several callers lambasted the CBC for waiting this long to call for a pardon for the Jena 6. In reality, as I have explained, they may be calling for those actions too soon.
The problem always comes in after we’ve had a watershed moment. We tend to focus on Jesse Jackson’s and Al Sharpton’s presidential campaigns, the Million Man March, the impressive showing in Jena. But what happens after the event? Sadly, in most cases, nothing.
Sure, there were some undeniable political victories as a result of Jackson’s 1984 campaign. But no lasting, effective political apparatus was left in place. The same goes for the Million Man March.
In Jena, if white leaders are serious about defusing racial tensions in their community, they should throw out charges against all six teens, as well as any whites prosecuted on any related charges, and call for community healing. If they refuse to do that, we should return to Jena in even greater numbers than before – with or without black leaders – to insist on justice. If all that fails and the men are convicted, then we can demand a pardon from the governor.
In the meantime, if black leaders who helped bring attention to this matter can’t join us in this continued effort, it’s time to get some new leaders.