Internet Leveling Playing Field?

Is the internet leveling the playing field in the representation of people of color in the media? The Jena Six took some time to gain national spot light. The nooses were hung in Jena, LA on September 1, 2006. This action set off a chain of events that led to the harsh sentencing of six black students who beat up a white student. As one can see, these events were going on in this little town behind the backs of all Americans. Was it that CNN received a tip on what was going on in Jena, Louisiana? No, it took the efforts of many people, primarily college students, sending the information all across America through web.

The reason college students were so vital in the spreading of this information is because they are exposed to so many resources. In college, a student is surrounded by internet access. One does not even need to go to a computer lab to access the internet due wireless connectivity being readily available to so many students. Various forms of web brought this injustice to light, such as email and weblog. Many individuals learned of the Jena situation through word of mouth attributed to various blogging sites, including Myspace and Facebook.

Latisha Edwards, a second year student majoring in Psychology, said she heard about the Jena Six as a result of word of mouth. “My friend found out about the situation through Facebook and told me about it,” said Edwards. Jarrhette Burke, a freshman majoring in digital arts, learned of this prejudice through email. Now that we are in this new era many have dubbed the “digital age,” can we expect more injustices to come to light? As Al Sharpton said, “You wait ’til we go to D.C. and bring the whole country, because there’s Jenas all over America.” This is not the first incident of racial injustice going on in America and it sure will not be the last. It just so happens that this incident by the Grace of God was heard all around the world. People of color should not let incidences of this caliber stop with the Jena Six. Everyone should report injustices. If news outlets will not listen, create your own news outlet in the form of a blog. There are millions of people in cyber space. Someone will be bound to listen and it may catch the eye of someone who has resources to bring the injustice to national spotlight. As Al Sharpton said, let’s let it be known of the Jenas in our communities.