A small group of white bigots disturbed the calm in Jena, Louisiana yesterday when they marched in protest of Martin Luther King Day. Organized by the Nationalist Movement of known racist Richard Barrett, the group held a rally at the LaSalle Parish Courthouse, while 100 counter demonstrators protested nearby. Snipers and police from the Louisiana State Police and three parish sheriff's departments were on hand to keep the peace and one counter-demonstrator was arrested.

The crowd of onlookers from Jena included George Ferguson, a local resident who wore a T-shirt reading "Justice for Justin," referring to Justin Barker, the white teen beaten in the Jena school attack.

Race relations in Jena, a small town of 2,800 in Louisiana have been severely strained since six African-American teenagers were charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white student at Jena High School in 2006. Many were convinced that they were being prosecuted harshly because they were black, noting that no charges were filed against three white students accused of hanging nooses in a tree at the high school. Also contributing to the tension were other instances of violent crimes committed by whites that resulted in lesser charges being filed.
 
It’s an abomination that white supremacists even exist in our country today and disgraceful that they decided to showcase their own particularly evil brand of hatred and bigotry on a day celebrating a man who preached inclusion and non-violence.