Well, it's alive and well and living in Jena, LA. I saw this story this morning, and I can't for the life of me understand how the color of someone's skin means that they can't sit under a tree or get a haircut at a "certain" barber's shop. I admittedly have never had racism directed at me, after all I am a white girl. But I spent a few years in Georgia while hubby was in the military and let me tell you, I witnessed many, many times the sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant racism that permeates the south. I remember many occasions when I could feel my jaw drop at what I was hearing and seeing. I must have been blind or just naive to think that racism had been eradicated from our culture. The reason I thought it was purely based on my own life experience growing up in a small town in California I would never mistreat someone based on skin color and the thought process that someone would was completely lost on me. Until............................. It was 1991 and I was very young and very innocently wrong. For example, the home we rented in Georgia, I found out later was purchased by the neighbors to prevent a black family from purchasing it and moving into their "old money" neighborhood. I found this out through a simple, friendly neighbor to neighbor chat one day. I was horrified. We didn't have a lot of money, and had a new baby to care for, but we moved out the next month. That was when the reality of racism smacked me in the freaking face.
If you haven't heard of the story of the Jena 6, I beg you to follow the link to the website that is covering it. Apparently CNN has picked up the story as well. Visit here to see the story and watch the video.