Commenting on the Jena 6

I went to a preaching seminar a few years back. One of the speakers vamped for an hour on a pet topic - truth in preaching. He had everyone close their eyes and then asked the non-pastors present (roughly 12 of 100) how many of them had heard a sermon illustration told in the first person by more than one preacher (in other words, two different preachers telling the same story as if it happened to them). When he had us open our eyes and told us that at least half the non-pastors had experienced this, a chuckle went through the room. That is, until the speaker rebuked us. Total silence. In no uncertain terms he warned us that this was not funny at all - that how can the members of our congregation believe we preach the truth if our stories aren't even true. That has always stuck with me and I try to live by it.

This past Sunday I shared a story about the Jena 6. I hadn't really planned on doing so. It was a note in the margins of my sermon. I only expanded on it when, after making a brief mention of it in passing, I noticed that all of my black brothers and sisters knew exactly what I was talking about, while very few of my white brothers and sisters knew anything about it at all. But as soon as I started talking, I knew I was in trouble because I had done no extra research after having read about it two weeks previous, from stories that were two months old. So find some additional research below:

A general overview of the time line of events is available here, from a local paper in Louisiana.
One of the better accounts of the story, as it is commonly told, is available here, from NPR.
Another version of the story, with some alternate versions of reported facts (see the second half of the article) and lots of snippets from local citizens, is available here, from an AP story posted on Yahoo News.
Finally, for some perspective from an emerging voice in racial reconciliation, check the comments on this blog here.

And with all that in mind, I'd like to clarify a thing or two. Some of the facts that I shared on Sunday are in dispute, I've learned, so I share these things for your review because I have a responsibility to the truth. (Besides, I'm in good company ... it is said John Wimber used to have to clarify all the time.) Thanks to those who've pointed me to these sources. Probably the truth (of the facts) can be pieced together from these various sources (and others like them). Now, I shared the story about the Jena 6 in support of my point coming from Isaiah 54:17, that there are weapons of injustice formed against us in our society. Even with disputed facts, I stand by this. Let me comment further.

No one disputes that nooses were hung from the school tree the day after that rally. Whether 2 or 3 doesn't matter and neither does it matter whether it was done in hate or as a prank. In fact, it is almost worse if it were a prank. Let's be clear: there is no confusion in the Deep South as to what a noose hung from a tree means. And if some students thought it would be funny - funny! - to send such a message - in 2007! - then that is a sure sign we're facing injustice in our culture - that the black students of Jena High existed in a world where white students thought it would be funny to remind them that their grandparents actually had to fear real threats of lynching.

Equally, no one disputes that the loudest voice in support of the Jena 6 is calling for the total dropping of all charges. Jena was a racially charged environment and allegedly there were racial epithets flying around, but, nonetheless, these six students made a choice to beat the other student up and they should have to face the consequences. If all charges were dropped against these students, that would also be an injustice in our culture. It would be an injustice to train our young people to think that just because it is hard, you shouldn't have to face the consequences of your actions. Reduce the charges, sure - as has been done for at least 5 of the 6 - but not dropped altogether.

What's interesting is that so many of the people interviewed commented on how Jena wasn't really that different from everywhere else. "Sure, we have our race problems," they say, "but so do lots of places." "We're not that special." That's probably the thing that saddens me the most, because I think they're right. And that's why I stand behind my pronouncement that the Jena 6 are a sign of injustice.