Demonstrations, Counter-Marches Planned In Jena Friday
JENA, La. (AP) — Out-of-towners will do most of the marching Monday in Jena, Louisiana.
A white supremacist group headquartered in Mississippi plans what it calls “Jena Justice Day” to voice its opposition to the Martin Luther King Junior holiday and to the Jena Six. They are the black teenagers accused of beating a white schoolmate shortly after a noose was hung on the campus of Jena High School.
A group calling itself the New Black Panthers plans a morning march at the courthouse in Jena. And other counter-protesters will try to drown out the white supremacist group, called the Nationalist Movement.
Extra police have arrived in town to guard against trouble.
Most of Jena’s King observances were held Sunday, including a parade down Main Street. Reverend Al Sharpton spoke at a small church and said what happened in Jena is a reminder that the country still hasn’t dealt with the problems of racism.
