At 3 p.m. on Sept. 19, a bus filled with over 50 A&T students will embark on an 18-hour ride to Jena, LA.

They will join a rally outside the town courthouse to protest the sentencing of Mychal Bell, the first member of the “Jena Six” to go to trial.

Police charged Bell, 17, and five other African-American students with attempted second-degree murder for punching and kicking a white classmate in the high school cafeteria.

An all-white jury convicted the young athlete, as an adult, of second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy after the DA reduced the indictments the morning of the trial.

A judge subsequently threw out the conspiracy verdict on Sept. 4, and an appeals court vacated the remaining battery conviction this past Friday.

Nonetheless, Bell is not out of danger despite his impending release. He can still be arraigned in juvenile court, so the rally must go on.

The Student Government Association, in conjunction with the Office of Student Affairs, coordinated the two-day trip. A&T will be among several historically black colleges and universities represented at the peaceful protest.

SGA President David Street asserts the Jena Six case is “biblically reminiscent of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho.” He is pleased the Rev. Al Sharpton may lead the Thursday morning rally and encourages fellow Aggies to make their voices heard.

Street urges us to let this incident be “a stepping stone” over a “wall of racism.” The Dec. 4 lunchroom brawl came after a wave of racially motivated incidents plagued the small, southern town.

In September, a black student sat under the “white” tree, where whites traditionally gather, after school administrators granted him permission to sit wherever he pleased.The next day, three nooses in school colors hung from the same tree.

Scott Windham, Jena High School’s principal, recommended the three white students responsible be expelled, but was overruled by the superintendent in favor of a three-day suspension.

On Nov. 30, an unsolved fire burned down the high school’s main building.

A day later, Robert Bailey, Jr., one of the Jena Six, was beaten for attending a whites-only party. His assailant was arrested and charged with simple battery.

Then a white former Jena High student pulled a shotgun on a group of blacks, including Bailey, at a local convenience store. They got the weapon safely away from the man, but were later arrested for the theft of the gun while the perpetrator was never charged with a crime.

The fight in the school cafeteria days later started after the victim of the beating, Justin Barker, allegedly taunted Bailey with racial slurs.

In addition to Bailey, 17, the four teens charged and awaiting trial are: Theo Shaw, 17; Carwin Jones, 18; Bryant Purvis, 17; and an unidentified minor. Bail amounts for the Jena Six ranged from $90,000 to $138,000.

On May 10, Jena police arrested Barker, also 17, for bringing a loaded rifle onto school property, but released him on a $5,000 bond.

Like Bell, defendants Jones and Shaw received a reduction in charges from attempted second-degree murder to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy, but they could still spend years behind bars if found guilty.

“This is an American outrage that demonstrates the continuing shame of racial division in our country,” stated NAACP Chairman Julian Bond.

The A&T students obtained lodging in neighboring Alexandria, LA, so as not to patronize Jena-based businesses during their stay. They will return to Greensboro on Sept. 21.

• Jennifer Sims