For a large number of students at Elizabeth City State University, the fate of six teenagers more than 1,000 miles away still hits home. Racism, they said, is a universal problem.

More than 150 students, faculty and community leaders descended upon Elizabeth City's Waterfront Park Monday to show solidarity for the "Jena Six" — a group of African-American teens facing assault charges in Jena, La.

The charges, which supporters say are racially motivated, follow months of racial hostility in the majority white town of 3,000.

Monday's event is one of several being organized around the country in support of the six teens, who are accused of beating white student Justin Barker unconscious after he talked about one of them, Robert Bailey Jr., being beaten by a white man days before.

The students were charged with attempted second-degree murder and one, Mychal Bell, was convicted on a battery charge.

While Bell's conviction was overturned on appeal on Friday, the remaining students are still facing charges in the incident.

"We need to bring awareness of racial tension not only to our campus and our community, but to the whole of the United States," said Kristynna Oliver, president of ECSU's Student Government Association.

Oliver said that she is hopeful that charges against the Jena Six will be dropped and action will be taken against LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters.

"We'll aim for the stars and land in the clouds," she said.

Joy Clark, a senior communications major and the reigning Miss ECSU, said the university community had been following the situation in Jena for months and was disappointed by the lack of media attention up until recently.

"Students are going to have a progressive interest to know something, even if it's only what they heard today," she said. "Spreading awareness can help to avoid situations in Jena from happening here."

Monday's event included a petition to sign and an opportunity for students to place their handprints on a banner, which will then be taken to Jena. It was organized by the SGA with the support of several other student organizations.

University Chancellor Willie Gilchrist and Mayor Charles Foster praised the students for standing up for their convictions.

Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County Chapter of the NAACP, linked student participation to earlier demonstrations, such as the Greensboro sit-ins of the 1960s.

"You are the backbone of the civil rights movement," he said.

Jahi Issa, a professor of history at ECSU, noted parallels between the attempted murder charges and previous episodes of racial unrest in LaSalle Parish.

"This stuff is ongoing," he said. "In 1920, a black woman was burned. There is a history of violence in that area."

(Contact Zac Goldstein at zgoldstein@coxnc.com)