Talk Show Hosts Come To Aid Of Jena 6

From H-Net Portside

Michael Baisden, Ruben Armstrong among those demanding justice
for Mychal Bell.

September 5, 2007, EurWeb

http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur36488.cfm

The gross miscarriage of justice in the Jena 6 Case has drawn
the immediate attention of key figures in television and
radio.

Nationally syndicated radio personality Michael Baisden will
join Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King, III on Sept. 20
at the court house in Jena, Louisiana for the 9 a.m. start of
a rally dubbed, 'National March For Justice.'

Gathered protesters will demand fair treatment for Mychal
Bell, one of the African-American teenagers awaiting sentence
in the Jena 6 Case. Sharpton was contacted by Bell's family to
help bring national attention to the case and to fight for
justice on behalf of the six black students involved.

As summarized in the Philadelphia Daily News by writer Fatimah
Ali: 'In short, a black student at Jena High School asked if
it was all right to sit under a shade tree normally used by
white students. Soon after, three nooses were found hanging
from the tree branches. Fights and tensions between white and
black students escalated over the next few weeks. One black
student was beaten at a party by white students. Then, a white
student was injured in a fight with black students. Following
that fight, the student was treated at the hospital and
released a few hours later, and six black teens were charged
with attempted murder. In July, one of them, Bell, a star
athlete, was convicted on reduced charges by an all-white jury
and faces up to 22 years in prison. Most of the accused are in
jail, unable to post bail, and Bell awaits sentencing after
being swiftly convicted. The "weapon" in question that
escalated a schoolyard brawl to attempted-murder charges ? A
sneaker.'

Sharpton, who has been to Jena twice, arrived last month with
Martin Luther King, III and met with local leaders, preachers
and families of the students. They visited with Bell in jail
and vowed to continue to fight for him and the others.

On Sept. 19, television talk show host Ruben Armstrong will
broadcast live from Jena and also march the following day,
when Bell is to be sentenced on charges of attempted murder.

Armstrong and his production team will be interviewing the
family and supporters. According to a spokesperson for Reuben
Armstrong, the show will broadcast live from Jena, Louisiana
in its entirety and rebroadcast on Sept. 22nd at 12 p.m. CST.
You can watch and listen to this broadcast at
http://www.reubenarmstrongshow.com/