Are We Back in the 60's?

Living in a democratic country which emphasizes the quote "of, for, and by the people" it is hard to believe racism is still apart of society. In Jena Louisiana preference by race still continues on strongly. If you do not know about the case Jena 6 I will give you some background information. Last fall a new black student to Jena High School sat under a tree seen to be for white students only. The next day three white students hung nooses on a tree to emphasize their superiority and their strength over this black student. This act was obviously more than a joke but the school viewed it as a minor prank and they were only suspended for three days...Black students got together and formed a silent protest where the local D.A. came out and waved his pen in the air while saying, "With a stroke of this pen, I can make your life disappear." Is this not a threat? On November 30Th Jena High School was burnt down and the opposite race both assumed it was their counterparts. At a party the next night black teenagers tried to enter and were brutally beat up. A day later one white boy and one black boy, Robert Bailey, began to verbally fight and the white teen ran to his car and pulled out a pistol. Bailey fought the white student for the gun and was charged for theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery, and disturbing the peace. However, the white student who pulled the weapon was not charged at all. The following Monday Justin Barker was loudly bragging about Baileys charge and injuries. Then, he went outside and was beat up by six black students, but suffered only superficial wounds. Later that night he went to a party! The six black students were arrested and eventually charged for attempted second-degree murder. The white students were not charged for anything. Micheal Bell, then 16, was tried as an adult and received 22 years in prison. However, after protesting he is now being tried for a minor. Why should these young men suffer for the rest of their lives while the white students can stay out and continue to support their racism? The protests going on right now for Micheal Bell must continue because these kind of acts go back to before the Civil Rights Movement. Everyone should be given the same amount of opportunities and not have to suffer due to the color of their skin. Jena Louisiana is a place where some major changes need to occur. If this case remains in favor of the white supremacists, yes these teenagers are committing hate crimes and should be called by the proper label, whites almost have permission to demonstrate their hatred. Living in California where there is a wide diversity of people we tend to forget how wrong and unjust many people still out there are. We feel the Civil Rights Movement ended segregation and began equality for all races, but that was just the beginning. These people have been trained to feel superior to African Americans and so many others out there also continue to have the same views. As a person who feels we should all be given equal rights and the color of your skin is just a color I find it hard to imagine such events still take place. We feel this is of our past, but in reality it's our present and will be in our future unless we start to express our feelings on such issues. Who are we to judge people by what they look like? We all can work together and help each other if we recognize our differences as qualities which make us unique and find the similarities which can tie us together. The Jena 6 case is a prominent example of racism and hatred in the United States today and we must continue to voice our opinions and help the African American students be liberated for crimes they did not even commit.