Who says Obama is Acting "White"

Barack Obama made the following statement in response to the Jena 6 case.

"When nooses are being hung in high schools in the 21st century, it's a tragedy. It shows that we still have a lot of work to do as a nation to heal our racial tensions. This isn't just Jena's problem; it's America's problem."

"There are a number of signs that the system is not working in this case. It's a problem when criminal charges are brought against some students for fighting, but not others. It's a problem when a public defender doesn't call any witnesses. And it's a problem when a prosecutor decides to try teenagers as adults for a school fight, a charge that could leave them in jail for the majority of their lives. That is why I join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in calling on the judge to consider all the relevant factors and calling on the District Attorney to drop the excessive charges brought in this case. And I, along with other members of the CBC, will continue to monitor this case closely."

"Going forward, we have to fix our criminal justice system. Whether it's Jena 6 or Genarlow Wilson, it's long past time for us to admit that we have more work to do to ensure that our criminal justice system is fair. We must ensure that both victims and defendants can receive equal justice under the law, regardless of race, wealth, or other circumstances."

Source: Obama for America

Jesse
Jackson was quoted as saying Democratic presidential candidate Barack
Obama was "acting like he's white" for not speaking out more forcefully
about a racially charged schoolyard beating in Louisiana.

Wednesday's (Columbia) State newspaper said Jackson made the comment
about Obama and the Jena, La., case after speaking Tuesday at Benedict
College, a historically black school. "If I were a candidate, I'd be
all over Jena," Jackson said in his remarks after the speech, according
to the published account.

"Jena is a defining moment, just like Selma was a defining moment,"
Jackson said. In 1965, demonstrators were attacked by police with billy
clubs during a peaceful voting rights march in Selma, Ala. "Bloody
Sunday" shocked the nation and helped bring attention to the voting
barriers that kept blacks from the polls.

Jackson later told the newspaper he did not remember making the "acting like he's white" comment about Obama, who is black.

On Wednesday, the civil rights activist said in a statement that he
was "taken out of context." It said he commended Obama "for speaking
out and demanding fairness on this defining issue. Any attempt to
dilute my support for Sen. Obama will not succeed."

The newspaper's deputy managing editor, Steve Brook, said the newspaper was standing by its story.

The Illinois senator, in a statement late Wednesday reacting to
Jackson's comment, said "outrage over an injustice" such as in the Jena
case "isn't a matter of black and white. It's a matter of right and
wrong." Obama cited earlier statements in which he "demanded fairness"
and said they "were carefully thought out with input and support" from
one of his national campaign chairmen — Jesse Jackson Jr., a Chicago
congressman and son of the elder Jackson.

Obama issued a statement last Friday, after a state appeals court
threw out the only remaining conviction against one of the black
teenagers accused in the December attack on a white schoolmate in Jena.

Obama said he hoped the decision would lead the prosecutor "to
reconsider the excessive charges brought against all the teenagers in
this case. And I hope that the judicial process will move deliberately
to ensure that all of the defendants will receive a fair trial and
equal justice under the law."

On Sept. 10, the senator said: "When nooses are being hung in high
schools in the 21st century, it's a tragedy. It shows that we still
have a lot of work to do as a nation to heal our racial tensions. This
isn't just Jena's problem; it's America's problem."

Jena is a mostly white town where racial animosity flared about a
year ago when a black student sat under a tree that was a traditional
gathering place for whites. A day later, three nooses were found
hanging from the tree. Reports followed of racial fights at the school,
culminating in the December attack