Rally to support black student in La.

JENA, La., Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Civil rights activists plan a march in support of six black Louisiana high school students on the day one of them is to be sentenced for assault.

The Louisiana chapter of the NAACP and other groups say the students are being treated too harshly, The Washington Times reported.

"Our intent is to have these charges reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, so these students can go back to school and not to jail," said the Rev. Ernest Johnson, president of the Louisiana NAACP.

The racial tension in Jena, a small town in central Louisiana, began when a black student asked to sit under a tree that for years had been informally reserved for white students. Three nooses were hung from the tree, and three white students received suspensions for putting them up.

Other incidents followed, eventually leading to the arrest of six black students. Mychal Bell, who is to be sentenced next Thursday, faces up to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault.