Correspondent Susan Roesgen and I are here at Jena High School. Yesterday Al Sharpton called it the scene of the crime.
Last August, some black students here sat under a tree that for years was reputedly a gathering point for white students. The next day nooses hung from the branches. White students said it was a prank, but to black students the implied message seemed clear.
This morning when we arrived, there were only a few state police officers on hand. Very few people were expecting this to be a rallying point. There are no porta potties here, there's no water, and there is no food.
Nonetheless, marchers started streaming over the hill towards us around 10 a.m. local time and they just kept coming by the thousands. The few police officers were no match for the crowd when they decided to head onto school property toward the imfamous tree.
The tree was cut down before the start of school and the stump was removed, but marchers are flocking to the spot where it once stood. They're touching the dirt, feeling for the roots. It is for many the reason they came to Jena. People are asking for us for a leaf and one guy is holding what he claims to be a root.
-- By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Producer
