The night before tens of thousands of protestors marched on Jena’s streets, Loyola students held a lock-in in the St. Charles Room to prepare for their own 2 a.m. departure to the tiny Louisiana town. These students traveled the four-and-a-half hours to Jena to participate in the Sept. 20 rally in support of the infamous “Jena Six.”

“This (event) proves we are more than just one person. As a whole we come together to represent liberty and justice for everyone,” said Jasmine Bailey, marketing junior.

Bailey learned about the Jena Six from Internet communities and blogs a few months prior to the rally. She asked for support from Loyola and faculty members and began coordinating the event with the help of friends, gathering more than 130 students. According to Bailey, the university used an endowment to provide three buses for a round trip to Jena, free of charge.

Universities and schools came to rally from

Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville and other cities across the country.

Lionel Jackson, a Loyola chaperone, cautioned the students of possible violence at the rally and said, “We are here to represent Loyola. We’re here to make a difference.”

Jena shut down most businesses that day for the momentous event, and national media began covering the preparations the day before. The march and rally, called “Peace and Justice,” began at the LaSalle Parish Courthouse and drew a police-estimated crowd of 12,000 – 20,000 people.

The marchers came to support Mychal Bell, one of six students from Jena High School facing a charge of aggravated assault and battery towards a fellow student.

Protestors argue that the six students deserve to be free and the charges are fueled by racism.

A separate rally in support of Bell and the six students began in downtown Alexandria at 11 a.m. However, Loyola students missed the event due to miscommunication among students and bus drivers during the trip.

‘2007, NOT 1957’

As Bell sat at LaSalle Parish Courthouse, protestors and famous keynote speakers including Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III spoke outside about equality and racism.

Kortni Blackmon, sociology junior, wore a shirt stating “2007, not 1957” as a reminder of the generations who participated in the civil rights movement.

Frustration loomed in the air, the result of heat and compact space within the crowds.

Filled with anticipation and anxiety, students expressed their support for the six high school students by wearing black clothes, holding banners and raising their voices. Fighting the crowds and climbing over barricades, Loyola students strived to catch a glimpse of speakers and listen to Bell’s sentencing. Rev. Sharpton gave an interactive speech by encouraging the audience to chant lines such as “Free Mychal Bell” and “It’s not right.”

Blackmon said, “If we didn’t achieve anything today, at least there’s awareness about racism. We should not be here in the first place. Justice never comes quick enough.”

Traffic was at a standstill in downtown Jena throughout the morning. Jena has a population of 3,500, and because of the influx of protestors, Gov. Kathleen Blanco dispatched the National Guard and state troopers to assist in the rally.

While one of Loyola’s buses sat stuck in traffic, students got a surprise visit as MTV chief correspondent Jonathan “Sway” Calloway jumped on the bus and interviewed four students for reactions and comments.

“I’m really happy people are here, although it should never have to come to this. The rally is all about a change,” said Constance Thompson, drama and mass communication junior.

AWAITING JUDGMENT

Bell has been awaiting trial in jail since Dec. 4, 2006, on $90,000 bail. He was originally charged with second-degree murder and tried as an adult, but charges were reduced to aggravated assault and second-degree battery with up to 22-and-a-half years in prison. Local police say that during the fight, Bell threw a tennis shoe, which they considered a weapon.

A number of incidents between Jena High students occurred prior to the arrest of Mychal Bell, Robert Bailey, Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and an unidentified minor.

Local police say the events included nooses hanging from the “White Tree” in the school courtyard, theft at a local convenience store and a fight at a party, all of which occurred between August and December 2006.

By the end of the rally, protestors raised an estimated $15,000 to release Bell from jail.

Slideshow of Jena Six protest.

Rosie Dao can be reached at [email protected].