Reports of racism against Jena Six overblown

First off, I would like to state that I am in no way suggesting that racism does not exist in America. That being said, I would like to address a recent article called “Racial entertainment” [Malaika Carpenter, Dec. 4, 2007].

In her article, she addresses the now famous “white” tree – which she calls the “white only tree” – from the Jena Six case. As more and more information comes out, and people come forward, it turns out that reports of the tree being for whites
only were incorrect.

MTV even issued a retraction regarding the “white” tree which can be found online. The retraction was based on a widely carried Associated Press report. This AP report, which was also carried by ABC and the Washington Post, can
be found online.

I find it inexcusable that The Temple News, who calls itself a watchdog, would print “facts” on Dec. 4 that have been disproved since Sept. 24, or let someone imply that they are facts. Another article, this time by Craig Franklin, assistant editor of the Jena Times – the only paper to cover this story from the beginning – attempted to dispel the “white tree” and other Jena myths.

And for all the emphasis on the “white” tree and the nooses and these young men standing up for civil rights and fighting racism: “Nowhere in any of the evidence, including statements by witnesses and defendants, is there any reference to
the noose incident that occurred three months prior,” wrote Franklin.

In summation, there have been enough reports from major news outlets disproving the “white” tree for Ms. Carpenter and this newspaper to know the truth or to have easily found it out. It’s called due diligence. Not only was the “white” tree debunked, it is most likely irrelevant to the [Justin] Barker attack. When news outlets print discredited information regarding racist incidents, it gives ammunition to those who say racism is dead or artificially manufactured. It also helps put six hoodlums into the same hallowed category as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks – and that is a shame.

Zachary Bonfante
Political Science
Class of 2010