• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Jena 6 Donations

Mike

Well-known member
What Happened To All The Jena 6 Donations?

Posted Nov 13th 2007 5:12PM by Ada Calhoun
Filed under: Controversy, Legal System

This article in the Chicago Tribune questions what's become of the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the black teenagers in Louisiana known as the Jena 6.

It appears that some groups are exploiting the tragic racial incident for their own ends. The Tribune reports: Exactly how much money has been collected for the Jena 6 defendants is impossible to know, because many donors did not go through Color of Change, the NAACP or other mainstream groups and instead contributed directly to the defendants' families. Many Internet operators raised money by selling T-shirts or otherwise invoking the Jena 6 cause, but much of that money disappeared without a trace.

It also appears that the teens are excited about the windfall. The Tribune reports that: photos and videos are circulating across the Internet that raise questions about how the donated money is being spent. One photo shows Robert Bailey, one of the Jena 6 defendants, smiling and posing with $100 bills stuffed in his mouth. Another shows defendants Carwin Jones and Bryant Purvis modeling like rap stars at the Black Entertainment Television Hip-Hop music awards last month in Atlanta.

This kind of press isn't sitting well with some of the activists who came to the Jena 6's defense. Apparently, if the boys are gleeful about the money they've received, they can't also be victims of a racist legal system? But the way we compensate people in this country is with cash, so isn't it right that after being being wrongly treated their families should receive copious amounts of money that they should then use as a photo prop or blow on, say, a trip to a hip-hop music awards show? Isn't the real problem with unrelated online groups using the Jena 6 name to profiteer?
 

Latest posts

Top