Voices from Jena: African American Educator from Jena Accuses DA of Conflict of Interest in Handling of Jena Six Case

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 : During a recent trip to Jena, Democracy Now! interviewed Billy “Bulldog” Fowler, a member of the La Salle Parish School Board. Fowler, 68, moved to Jena in 1940. He says Jena is being unfairly painted as racist. He feels the hanging nooses were blown out of proportion, that in the high school setting it was more of a prank: “This is the Deep South, and [older] black people know the meaning of a noose. Let me tell you something—young people don’t.”

Racial tensions run deep in Jena. Being in the media spotlight has only made it more uncomfortable for some residents of this 85 percent white town. They feel Jena has been unfairly painted as "the most racist town in the world."

I spoke to La Salle Parish School Board member Billy Wayne Fowler earlier this month. His brother Mack Fowler recently retired as the coach of the high school football team. Almost all of the Jena Six had played for the school and Mychal Bell in particular was considered a star player with a future in professional football.

I want to play excerpts of my interview with 68 year old school board member Billy Fowler. He moved to Jena in 1940.

• Billy “Bulldog” Fowler, member of the La Salle Parish School Board

LISTEN ONLINE

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 : Activists from across the country are heading to Jena, Louisiana for a major demonstration on Thursday to protest the treatment of six African American high school students who were jailed and faced attempted murder charges for taking part in a fight after nooses were hung from a tree in the schoolyard. Last night we interviewed activists in Harlem as they boarded buses bound for Jena.

Last week, ten months after the initial charges, a state court in Louisiana overturned District Attorney Reed Walters's first conviction in the Jena Six case. An all-white jury had convicted seventeen-year-old Mychal Bell but the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that he should not have been tried as an adult. Walters says he plans to appeal Bell’s overturned conviction and also pursue the other five prosecutions.

But that's only making people across the country even more determined to fight for justice for the Jena Six. Tomorrow Jena's population of 3,000 could swell to several times its size. Thousands of people are expected to pour into town in solidarity with the six teenagers.

Last night I spoke to some New Yorkers from Harlem who have hired a bus to make the trip and be a part of Thursday's march.

• Voices from Harlem

LISTEN ONLINE

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 : LaSalle Parish school board member Billy "Bulldog" Fowler reveals the school district conducted an internal investigation about the Jena Six but the school board was not allowed to review it before they voted to uphold the expulsion of the six. The school board’s lawyer was none other than the prosecuting district attorney, Reed Walters. Asked if he felt that Walters had a conflict of interest that night, Fowler replied, “Well, I’m assuming that Mr. Walters knows the law.”

Read Amy Goodman's new column: "Tipping the Scales of Justice in Jena."

LISTEN ONLINE