James Rucker is the co-founder of Color of Change, an online activist organization that aims to strengthen the political voice of African Americans in the United States, it was founded by Rucker and Van Jones in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and helped to raise awareness for the cause of the Jena Six, were six black teenagers in Jena, Louisiana, convicted in the beating of Justin Barker, that occurred in what year, a white student at the local Jena High School, which they also attended?
Jena Six The Jena Six were six black teenagers in Jena, Louisiana, convicted in the 2006 beating of Justin Barker, a white student at the local Jena High School, which they also attended. Barker was injured on December 4, 2006, by the members of the Jena Six, and received treatment at an emergency room. While the case was pending, it was often cited by some media commentators as an example of racial injustice in the United States. Some commentators believed that the defendants had been charged initially with too-serious offenses and had been treated unfairly.
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran who was reportedly angry over police shootings of black men and stated that he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers. The shooting happened at the end of a protest against police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, which had occurred in the preceding days.