* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Holton
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
The Case of the Jena 6 - Justice Must Prevail
FOR the purpose of calling for justice and equity in the adjudication of six black teens from Jena, Louisiana; endorsing the efforts of the NAACP to secure the intervention of the Governor and Attorney General of Louisiana to ensure a fair outcome for the Jena 6; and expressing sorrow that such incidents continue to occur in this country.
Body
Recitals
In September 2006, black students at Jena High School in Central Louisiana were given permission by a school official to sit under the WHITE TREE in the school yard. The day after the students sat under the tree, 3 hangman's nooses were found hanging from the tree. The 3 white students responsible for what was characterized as a "harmless prank" were sanctioned with a few days of in-school suspension.
The day after the nooses were found, black students, led by 6 black male athletes, staged a spontaneous protest rally under the tree. In response to the protest, the District Attorney, accompanied by a dozen fully uniformed police officers, addressed an emergency school assembly and, in words later admitted to under oath, warned the protest leaders that with a stroke of his pen he could take their lives away. His words were aimed at the Jena 6: Robert Bailey, Carwin Jones, Mychal Bell, Theodore Shaw, Jesse Beard, and Bryant Ra...
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