Hearing of the House Committee on the Judiciary- Jena 6 and the Role of Federal Intervention in Hate Crimes and Race-Related Violence in Public School

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Hearing of the House Committee on the Judiciary- Jena 6 and the Role of Federal Intervention in Hate Crimes and Race-Related Violence in Public School

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REP. BETTY SUE SUTTON (D-OH): I thank the chairman.

I think the sum of the answer to that question was then that no, that didn't happen -- that investigation.

There are so many things that I could talk about, and I have a statement that I'm going to submit to the record. And everybody who is interested -- certainly you'll have access to that, and it parallels much of, frankly, what my colleague just recited about this situation.

I want to thank the chairman for this hearing because, you know, while we're talking about the events in Jena today, make no mistake about it, this is a national issue. And I'd just like to take this moment to maybe pull together some of the things that we've heard here today. And we've heard some discussion down the lines of what we can do, you know, in our schools, and we've talked about the opportunity that exists with No Child Left Behind, and I think absolutely we need to pursue that.

And to the Southern Poverty Law Center and this program that you've provided to us -- wonderful, wonderful program to implement.

But as I think Mr. Ogletree also pointed out -- and Reverend Moran, I have to tell you, you said something here today that I think is really important and bears repeating, and that was that there is a cry -- there is a cry for peace, love and harmony, but there is no cry for justice.

So while we're pursuing these other elements that we have to pursue to make ourselves into the nation that is worthy, we also have to have our legal system -- and one is not a substitute for the other -- but they must work in tandem. And I'm really, really concerned when I hear it acknowledged that this was -- that hanging of the nooses under these circumstances -- and I want to get this right -- was a hate crime because the threatened use of intimidation, force, injury because of race while exercising the constitutional right of going to school qualifies this as a hate crime.

Now, we all agreed that it was a hate crime, and yet there was no response from our legal system of what we acknowledge as a hate crime. So while we say it's a hate crime, if we don't act on it like a hate crime, then I don't really believe it. I don't believe that we believe it's a hate crime if we're not acting on it.

And so what if there had been a legal response -- and we've heard there were actions that could have been taken. What if there had been a legal response that said not just for those students but said for the United States of America that this is unacceptable to all of us? It harms us all as a country. What if that legal response had been taken?

Now, I know it's a hypothetical and we can't get -- we can't get a complete answer, but explain to me how the people out there in this country can accept that our justice system could do no better than to go in on June 12, 2007 to start to address this issue.

MS. KRIGSTEN: I want to make clear that immediately after the incident that happened in August 2006, the Department of Justice had two responses. Immediately the Education Section sent a representative to go talk to school officials. More importantly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent an agent to that area -- in that area to investigate the allegation that there had been this noose- hanging.

Now, it is undeniable that a noose-hanging is a symbol of hate and racial violence. In this situation, it was not appropriate to pursue federal charges for reasons that have already been discussed.

What I want to make sure the committee is aware and that the American people are aware of is that the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division is taking al of the allegations of noose-hangings around this country extraordinarily seriously. There are open investigations in numerous cities that are ongoing right now.

The criminal section has formed a task force to coordinate the division's response to these noose-hangings, and we are working very closely with the FBI and local U.S. attorneys' offices.

REP. SUTTON: With all due respect -- and my light's about to turn red, too -- but there was no legal consequence.

MS. KRIGSTEN: (Inaudible.)

REP. SUTTON: There was no legal consequence, as you said, that you -- you sent them in and there was an educational response, which is good.

I'm sorry. And perhaps we should shift over to the gentleman.

MR. COHEN: There was no educational response. That's the problem.

REP. SUTTON: Okay.

MR. COHEN: And you know, the -- there's some dispute about the nature of the suspension or whatnot, but there was no public apology. There was no educational component to it. And had there been, perhaps that would have been sufficient. Who knows?

Right now, people call for the prosecution of the noose hangers, in some sense to balance the scales because of what happened to the Jena Six in being overcharged. I think that's the wrong-headed response.

MS. KRIGSTEN: That's the point. That's the point.

MR. COHEN: I just think that in the beginning it was dealt with very, very poorly. And you know, I don't fault the U.S. attorney for not filing charges. But I do think that the way the school handled it was a recipe for disaster. And that's what happened.

REP. SUTTON: I appreciate the gentleman's remarks. Thank you.

REP. CONYERS: Reverend Sharpton, did you want to --

REV. SHARPTON: Yeah, I just wanted to say, I think that Congresswoman Sutton hit the nail on the head in terms of -- we keep trying to, in my opinion, mistakenly place the school as the response of the criminal justice system. And I think the reason why we are seeing what some call copycat nooses and I would call just racists that feel empowered, is why wouldn't they? Nothing happened when a noose was hanged. And when people get the message that they can do this and nothing will happen, they will continue to do it.

Yes, beating a kid is egregious, but there was a response. There was an over-response. There was no response by the criminal justice system at all. A school having a seminar or suspension is not a criminal justice response that would tell me anywhere in the country that I'm going to pay for that if I do it. And that's why we're seeing nooses all over America.

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