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Covenanters Join Hundreds in Chicago ‘Jena Six’ Vigil
CHICAGO, IL (September 20, 2007) – More than 100 members of various local Evangelical Covenant churches joined more than 500 other people in downtown Chicago Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil to support the “Jena Six,” a name used to describe six African-American teenagers accused of beating a white teenager.
M. Randolph Thompson, pastor of Community Covenant Church, offered an opening prayer. Other participants included Debbie Blue, executive minister of the Department of Compassion, Mercy and Justice; Jerome Nelson, superintendent of the Central Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church; as well as members and youth from Community Covenant, The House Covenant Church, Winnetka Covenant Church, North Park Covenant Church, and Resurrection Covenant Church.
 Blue said the event was about more than the Jena Six. “This isn’t a black problem; this is a human problem,” she said, adding that although many Americans say they are shocked by the events in Jena, “for the people in the black community, it’s not a surprise.”
Alton Hughes, a teenager who attends Community Covenant, told a local television news reporter that he read about the civil rights struggle in his history textbooks. “It’s just so unfortunate that this is going on in 2007,” he noted.
Blue said it was important for her children and grandchildren to be at the event. “We need to pass on the mantle,” she explained. The accompany photo shows Blue (center) with her daughter, Deani Jordan, and Nelson.
Thousands of protesters from around the country marched through the small Louisiana community this morning, with coverage of the demonstration dominating newscasts throughout the day.
The situation began to develop after an African-American student asked permission from school administrators to sit under what some called the “white tree.” Generally white students sat under the tree while African-American students sat on the school bleachers. Permission was granted, but the next day three nooses were found hanging from the tree.
The principal recommended expulsion for three white students they found to be responsible, but the superintendent of schools overruled the expulsion and gave the students a three-day suspension, terming the incident “an adolescent prank,” news sources reported.
Over the next several weeks, African-American students organized a sit-in under the tree and were reportedly threatened by the district attorney. The school was put on a lockdown and a still unresolved fire burned down the main academic building.
Racial tensions mounted. Reports stated a black student was beaten at a party by white teens, and a white student was beaten by black students. Six African-American students subsequently were charged with attempted second-degree murder and expelled from school, with bail ranging from $70,000 - $138,000.
Throughout the process, protesters contend, white students received light or no punishment, while black students were punished more severely. “The injustices are threaded all the way through,” Blue says.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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