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If there's one thing we can take away from what's going on in the small town of Jena, La., it's that racism is still alive today and that the effects it has on people of all races is very real.
So real, in fact, that thousands gathered from all over the country, marched and rallied against what many - mostly blacks, but people of other races too - saw as a double standard of justice.
They marched to show that they felt the attempted murder charges against six black teenagers who allegedly attacked a white schoolmate were too harsh.
Actually, many feel the attempted murder charges were outright racist.
And they may not be too far off.
It all started in August 2006, when a black student at Jena High School dared to sit under what used to be an "all white" tree.
The next day three white students hung three nooses from the tree.
The white superintendent felt it was just a "prank" and gave the white students a three-day suspension.
Racial hatred spread through campus, and fights broke out. One fight in particular led to the controversy.
Six black students, now known as the Jena Six, allegedly attacked a white student and beat him so badly that he bled from his ears.
Even though the white student was released from the hospital that day and attended a school function later that night, the Jena Six were charged, by a white district attorney, with attempted murder, which could mean 50 years or more behind bars.
Since then charges for some of the teens have been reduced. But one still remains in jail awaiting charges.
The white students who started the whole incident face no charges and were simply slapped on the wrist with a school suspension.
Are blacks really so far off in saying this constitutes a double standard?
The answer to that question almost depends on who you are or, sadly, what color you are.
For many white people in Jena, La., their response has been, "No, this isn't a racist town. What those black kids did was wrong, and they should be prosecuted."
But what about the white kids? Shouldn't they have been charged with a hate crime?
Not in that town.
Not in a town where 86 percent of the population is white and in a state where 335 black people were lynched between 1882 and 1968.
The year 1968 was not too long ago. It was not too long after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, when Rosa Parks inspired many blacks to boycott the bus because they were not allowed to sit in the front.
The bus, like water fountains and other things back then, was subject to segregation that excluded blacks.
The tree in Jena did the same, until it was cut down this summer.
It's been more than 40 years since the Civil Rights Act provided blacks with an opportunity to feel like people. To feel like, but not even close to, the way a white person has felt his or her whole life. They were given rights.
But there are still racist acts that occur every day. There are still people who think hanging nooses is just a "prank." There are still trees that black people are not allowed under, and there are still idiots who drive around the town of Jena, La., with nooses tied to the back of their truck the day after a civil rights protest.
And the worst part is there are Jenas everywhere, and they affect a lot of people.
Even here in Chico.
Mario Carey, president of Men of Honor, a support group for African Americans at Chico State, said although he was "pissed" about what happened in Jena, he was not surprised.
And why should he be? After all, he's dealt with racism himself - being called a nigger or seeing his friend's car tagged with "coon."
"I just shake my head," Carey said. "Racism does exist. Jena's proof."
Mando Navarro can be reached at opinioneditor@theorion.com
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