ASU students joined thousands of people from more than 25 college campuses Monday to participate in a national walkout in response to the Jena 6 case.
The walkout was to show support for six black high school students from Jena, La., who faced charges stemming from a school yard fight with white students.
The walkout was organized after artist and activist Mos Def, along with M1, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Change the Game and the National Hip Hop Political Convention publicly made a "call to action" through a video posted on the Web site YouTube.com.
Monday's protest at ASU included members of the Young Democrats, the Social Justice Coalition, and coordinators from the Intergroup Relations Committee on campus. Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, and Rep. Cloves Campbell, Jr., D-Phoenix, were also present to speak.
More than 90 letters of protest were signed by ASU students to be delivered to Louisiana Gov. Katherine Blanco and Louisiana District Attorney Reed Walters.
"It is important to put an issue like this out there," said Grace Chang, an ASU graduate and a coordinator of the Intergroup Relations Committee. "We like to think racism is behind us, but really it still prevails in our society."
According to media reports, in August 2006 a black student at Jena High School asked the principal if he could sit under the "white" tree on campus. Some white students at the school reacted by hanging nooses from the tree the following morning. Following the incident, several interracial fights broke out among the high school students.
The white students received only a three-day suspension, while the black students were charged first with second-degree attempted murder until recently when the sentence was reduced to an aggravated second-degree battery conviction for one.
ASU students took part in Monday's walk-out as a way to bring race issues to the forefront, said Young Democrats at ASU President Juan Mendez.
"The fact that black students were able to be treated more harshly than white students means something is wrong with our criminal justice system," said Mendez, a political science senior. "This is not just a problem for students in Louisiana, but an issue for everyone. It is an issue for everyone who is mistreated by the criminal justice system because of race."
This month ASU students have been active in the fight against discrimination.
Members of ASU's Black and African Coalition participated in the cause through a silent protest by wearing all black last Tuesday. Other organizations, such as the NAACP, also participated through an online petition to be sent to Louisiana state officials.
"The march signified that our community will not lie dormant during situations like this," said Jarrad Henderson, a photography senior and member of the Coalition. "We are very emotional and close-knit. This situation has opened up everyone's eyes to these types of things still going on."
Henderson said he felt the Jena 6 situation is only one example of the ongoing problems of race relations in America.
"We try and put things of the past behind us, but then things like this keep coming up," he said.
Reach the reporter at: kendall.wright@asu.edu.
