Although the “Jenna 6″ have not been receiving quite as much publicity as they had a few weeks back (aside from recently presenting awards on BET), the case is still very much in the hearts of many Americans. I must admit I did not pay much attention to this case, much as I mostly ignored the Duke rape case. The sad truth of our culture is that we are a nation controlled by the media, and what they present as fact is rarely questioned. The media consistently presents stories which represent racial discrimination, wether it be in the workplace, in the school systems, or in this case, the Justice Department. I ignore these stories because their sole purpose is to perpetuate the myth that we live in a racist society. I will not deny that there are racist individuals living in this country, but we do no favor to minorities by focusing on these individuals while convincing them they are victims of society.

In the case of the “Jena 6″ the media has been working overtime reporting the story, while attempting to paint the town as a whole as one of the most racist in America. As any reporter worth his salt will tell you though, there are two sides to every story. In this case, as is true in many cases which cross the racial barrier, it does not appear the media in this country has taken the time to either learn about or report the other side of this story. All we seem to know about this incident was that a group of young black teens were in a fight (a 6 on 1 fight) which stemmed from racist actions by the victim. One of those teens was tried as an adult in the attack because of a racist justice department which wants to put all young black men in prison.

If you read the New York Times enough, particularly the editorial section, that is the story you will see. In their view the attackers in this case are the victims, they are victims of racial injustice. But what really happened in Jena Louisiana? Michelle Malkin has re-printed an op-ed this morning written by Craig Franklin, a journalist who lives in Jena titled Media Myths about the Jena 6.

The author discusses everything you have read about in the newspapers and thought to be true, including the “whites only tree” (which was eventually cut down), the noose hanging incident, as well as the attack itself. Here is what he says:

By now, almost everyone in America has heard of Jena, La., because they’ve all heard the story of the “Jena 6.” White students hanging nooses barely punished, a schoolyard fight, excessive punishment for the six black attackers, racist local officials, public outrage and protests – the outside media made sure everyone knew the basics.

There’s just one problem: The media got most of the basics wrong. In fact, I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts, and journalists abdicated their solemn duty to investigate every claim because they were seduced by a powerfully appealing but false narrative of racial injustice.

I should know. I live in Jena. My wife has taught at Jena High School for many years. And most important, I am probably the only reporter who has covered these events from the very beginning.

Anyone interested in reading the facts of the case from a reporter who lives in Jena should certainly read this article.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

New York Times, Politics, Racism