So unless you’ve been living under a rock (or don’t read black news sources) you are familiar with the plight of the Jena Six. With the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton entering the fray it now appears as if this travesty of justice will get more media coverage, and hopefully the increased transparency will result in the Six being exonerated.

But I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this a bit,

And what stands out to me is the Shaquanda Cotton case. It seems to me that this was a clear example in which the media was brought to bear, and justice was served, before Sharpton and Jackson appeared on the scene. In fact, Sharpton HAD committed but by the time he had, the decision about Shaquanda was already made.

I was trying to come up with an analogy for the role I think Sharpton and Jackson are playing here.

Ambulance chasers doesn’t work.

Rainmakers does.

I do not believe that Sharpton and Jackson participate in any event that is unlikely to garner media coverage, unlikely to generate victories, and unlikely to give them credit for the victory. I wish there were a way to test this empirically.