What, if any, is the causal relationship between race and inequality? What, if any, is the causal relationship between the “Jenna 6” and racism? What, if any, is the causal relationship between media portrayal of blacks and America’s beliefs about black male teenagers? What if any is the causal relationship between race and social beliefs?
I am the author of this blog and although I may try to detach myself from bias, due to my personal experiences that may not be completely possible. I am a black male teenager living in America. I attended a diverse but predominantly black high school. Now I attend a diverse but predominantly white university. In all my years i have heard about, and even experienced instances of racial discrimination. My goal is figure out why "races" discriminate against each other.
The purpose of my blog is for me to go on an intellectual journey, to somehow understand why there is still so much racial tension in America when we are living in the year 2007. This is America; we are supposed to be one of the most democratic nations in the world and the land of equal opportunity. Yet there seems to be tension among citizens of different “races.” I don’t just mean “white” on “black” tension. I admit there are other forms of racial discrimination; however this is the topic that I choose to highlight in my blog. I feel like America has come a long way in fair treatment among “races” Although I feel like there is still a long way to go. I believe that a lack of understanding of cultural differences is the cause of racial tension in America. If people would just take the time to understand each other’s differences and go against social beliefs, then people would be more willing to accept one another.
For those of you who don’t know what the “Jenna 6 “is, it is the name given to an incident in Jenna, Louisiana involving “6” black male teenagers. Race relations in Jenna were already unstable, and a couple of inciting incidents kept building up until racial tension reached a climax. The first incident involved a black student who asked the principal of his high school if he could sit under a tree that normally only white people sat under. The principal didn’t object, so the boy and a couple of his friends sat under the tree. The next day there were three nooses hanging from the same tree in the school colors. This brought about angry feelings from the blacks because they viewed this action as a threat. The principal just dismissed the incident as a “prank.” There were other inciting incidents after this that led to the climax when a fight broke out between black students and a white student. The white student received injuries, however none where life threatening. The black students faced attempted murder charges and could spend up to twenty years in prison. The ironic thing is that one of the black kids of the “Jenna 6” was involved in a fight prior to this incident where he was the victim and a white kid busted a glass bottle over the black kids head. However, there were no criminal charges brought against the white kid. The District Attorney in Jenna seems to be administering two different forms of justice; one for the blacks and one for the whites. Is the democratic government of America going to allow this to happen? Is it fair in any circumstance to have a double standard? What, if any, is the causal relationship between race and equal treatment of the law?
