“British duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster entered the London art scene in the mid-1990s, just as Damien Hirst and others of the so-called “Young British Artists” were attracting increasing attention.”
“Such unconventional self-portraiture lies at the crux of the series the couple is perhaps best known for, their shadow images. Carefully assembling seemingly random formations of ordinary junk or taxidermic animals and then lighting them from just the right angle, the artists achieve virtuoso likenesses in the resulting shadows.”
Over the last few days, I’ve found that many - if not most - of my peers have not heard about the Jena Six. Usually, I wouldn’t make a post concerning something that already has widespread media coverage unless I was bringing new information to the table. However, considering the importance of this story, I’m making an exception.
“Last fall [in Jena, Louisiana], when two Black high school students sat under the “white” tree on their campus, white students responded by hanging nooses from the tree. When Black students protested the light punishment for the students who hung the nooses, District Attorney Reed Walters came to the school and told the students he could “take [their] lives away with a stroke of [his] pen.” Racial tension continued to mount in Jena, and the District Attorney did nothing in response to several egregious cases of violence and threats against black students. But when a white student–who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses–taunted a black student, allegedly called several black students “nigger”, and was beaten up by black students, six black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder. Last month, the first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. He faces up to 22 years in prison for a school fight.” - Taken from: www.freethejena6.org
At least to me, it’s quite clear that this district attorney has let his own racial double standards affect his judgement. We all know these double standards exist in society, but when the results are this serious, something has to be done. I’m not saying the Jena Six deserved no punishment at all, but 22 years in jail is completely unjustifiable. Unfortunately, this may just be the tip of the iceberg; a glimpse into a much more widespread problem than most people would like to admit.
If this story upsets you but you feel like there’s nothing you can do to help, at least find out more about it and spread the word. Here’s a link to a petition against this injustice: www.colorofchange.org/jena/
Recent Comments