Fifty-five years ago, a white retired police officer, Stanley LeBensky, questioned a Yonkers bartender as to why he had served beer to a group of Black men.

Not satisfied with the reasonable answer he was given, he proceeded outside where he shot and killed two brothers—James and Wyatt Blacknall. The sitting judge in the ensuing trial did not follow court procedures, and LeBenksy was acquitted of the double murder.

How much has changed?

Today in Jena, Louisiana, teenage children attend some of the few integrated schools in the state. In the fall of 2006, a group of white students ambushed and attacked a Black student after luring him to a party. One of the white students received probation; no penalty was given to the other students. Shortly after that incident, a white student pulled a gun on Black students; he was not charged, but the Black students were charged with theft for taking away the gun!

Days later, a fistfight broke out between Black and white students. One white student was injured in the fight, but was well enough to attend a school function later the same day. Six Black students were charged with attempted second-degree murder. One of the students, Mychal Bell, was convicted this summer of two felonies after a trial in which his lawyer did not call any witnesses.

Tens of thousands of protestors from around the U.S. traveled to Jena on September 20 to demand the release of the Jena 6. Bell’s convictions were set aside because the judge in the case ruled he could not be tried as an adult. However, he still faces trial as a juvenile, and the other five students are still facing charges or sentencing.

The origins of these confrontations between Black and white students is a shade tree on school grounds that was known to be a “whites-only tree.” The day after a Black student sat underneath the tree, racist students hung nooses from the tree. After the lynching symbol was placed at the site, Black kids decided to stand up to the negative act by gathering underneath the tree. Now, the Jena 6 face another negative act--long, harsh years of punishment.

The tide of racism has eroded the shores of humanity’s beaches long enough to have the affect of a tsunami. Blacks go to court for justice, and all they get is the “law.” It’s more than the Jena 6, for there exist Jena Millions being oppressed.

Let justice, freedom, and equality live the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King.