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In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2011, Justin Barker, the student who was beaten by six black schoolmates in Jena, La., in 2006, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Trout, La. Five years after the events that sparked the bigges Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
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In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2011, Justin Barker, the student who was beaten by six black schoolmates in Jena, La., in 2006, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Trout, La. Five years after the events that sparked the bigges Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
View 5 more
In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2011, Justin Barker, the student who was beaten by six black schoolmates in Jena, La., in 2006, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Trout, La. Five years after the events that sparked the bigges Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
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In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2011, a sign is displayed at the home of Justin Barker, the student who was beaten by six black schoolmates in Jena, La., in 2006, during an interview with The Associated Press in Trout, La. Five years after the events that s Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
View 5 more
In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2011, Justin Barker, the student who was beaten by six black schoolmates in Jena, La., in 2006, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Trout, La. Five years after the events that sparked the bigges Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
View 5 more
In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2011, Justin Barker, the student who was beaten by six black schoolmates in Jena, La., in 2006, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Trout, La. Five years after the events that sparked the bigges Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
By Associated Press

JENA, La. — The young white man beaten by six black classmates who gained national attention as the "Jena Six" says he has moved on from the incident that brought the small Louisiana town of Jena under scrutiny.

The six, who were at one point charged with attempted murder, became the focus of a massive civil rights march in 2007, about nine months after the beating.

Justin Barker told The Associated Press in his first interview since he was beaten that he's moved on from the ordeal. Barker, who still lives in the town and now works on an oil rig, says to this day he has no idea why he was beaten.

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Several of the defendants also have moved on and are now attending college outside Jena.

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