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Voices from Jena: White School Board Member Accuses Jena Six of Committing a Hate Crime, Says Nooses Were Hung from a Schoolyard Tree "In a Joking Manner"

Voices from Jena: White School Board Member Accuses Jena Six of Committing a Hate Crime, Says Nooses Were Hung from a Schoolyard Tree "In a Joking Manner"

During a recent trip to Jena, Democracy Now! interviewed Billy “Bulldog” Fowler, a member of the La Salle Parish School Board. Fowler, 68, moved to Jena in 1940. He says Jena is being unfairly painted as racist. He feels the hanging nooses were blown out of proportion, that in the high school setting it was more of a prank: “This is the Deep South, and [older] black people know the meaning of a noose. Let me tell you something—young people don’t.” [includes rush transcript]

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