Talk Race - Jena 6 and Genarlow Wilson

What's happening in Jena 6 is absolutely ridiculous. And I know that I am not the first person to say this, nor am I an expert on this situation. However, the idea that something like this can happen is not new to me, as I have reported on similar issues in the past.

Take for example Genarlow Wilson. He was a 17-year old young man in his senior year at a Georgia high school and a great scholar athlete. During his senior year, he had a New Year's Eve gathering in a local hotel. He and his friends engaged in some sexual activities with a 15 year old female class mate of theirs, including oral sex. The next day, the girl reported that she had been raped, despite being quite complicit in the activity as video tape would prove, and as her denouncement of her accusation would soon come as well. However, because Mr. Wilson was 17 and she was 15, he was found guilty of having oral sex with a minor.

Yes, that's right. A 17-year-old was not allowed to have oral sex with 15 year old in the state of Georgia. And yes, that did result in Wilson being in jail for several years, and he is still there. Sounds stupid, right? Try this on for size. They repealed the law because of how stupid it sounds after they convicted Mr. Wilson, but they did not make the law apply retroactively, so the old law still applies to Wilson and still has him in jail to this day.

So when I hear about something like Jena 6 it's disturbing, but it is nothing new. In fact, it is no different from the average black man's view of America. From seeing black people unfairly represented in prisons, to seeing the economical opportunities afforded to certain races when they are not afforded to African-Americans, the average black person is not surprised by it. So when a group of six young black men receive different punishments from that of a group of white men for doing the same thing to each other, such as the case with Jena 6, part of me of is disappointed, and part of me is like "What is it this time?" And that's unfortunate.