Jena Braces for Thousands of Protesters

Huge crowds arrive in tiny town to protest trial of black students

(NEWSER) - Busload after busload of civil rights marchers alighted in Jena, La., today to support the “Jena Six,” a group of black students charged with felonies after a 2006 fight with a white classmate. An estimated 50,000 mostly-black protesters easily outnumbered the mostly-white population of the town, where racial tensions have swirled since last year when nooses in the schoolyard prompted the fight. More»

Kids learn racial difference early, and parents aren't helping

(NEWSER) - Parents, if you think you’re raising color-blind children by avoiding open discussions on race, you’re wrong and could actually be doing the opposite, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman write in a lengthy Newsweek article exposing how babies really learn about racial difference. Many white parents shy away from race discussions, fearing that it will train toddlers to notice skin color. But researchers say a parent’s silence on race combined with a child’s natural inclination toward in-group favoritism could reinforce segregation. More»

He calls on celebs to boycott the paper

(NEWSER) - Unimpressed by the New York Post's apology, Spike Lee has called on celebrities and athletes to boycott the paper and help "shut it down" for its chimpanzee cartoon. Lee and his 11-year-old son, joined by Al Sharpton, led 300 protesters in New York yesterday, the Daily News reports. "It's not just black folks," said Lee. "It's an insult to everybody." More»

(NEWSER) - Hundreds of protesters led by the Rev. Al Sharpton assembled outside the New York Post’s headquarters today to condemn the paper's now-infamous chimpanzee cartoon, Newsday reports. Protesters called for a boycott and vowed to return tomorrow. They insist it's a racist slam against President Obama, while the paper calls it a "clear parody." More»

Bell couldn't take media attention following new arrest: family

(NEWSER) - Mychal Bell, one of the “Jena six” who were the focus of a racial controversy in 2006, survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest and is in a Louisiana hospital, the Monroe News Star reports. Bell shot himself after being arrested for shoplifting on Christmas Eve and said “that he shot himself because he was tired of all the media attention” after that arrest, police reports said. More»