**Disclaimer: I will be incorporating a lot of excerpts, articles and studies in-order to prove my point. Please bear with me**
Homicide and police violence are not contemporary issues. For centuries the criminal justice system and law enforcement failed to protect and serve Black citizens. Law enforcement agencies sanctioned violence by turning a blind eye to the murder of black men in the American south and later in northern cities, during and after the Great migration. Today law enforcement agencies perpetuate this legacy through misconduct and abuse of power. To illustrate, the Department of Justice found the Ferguson Police Department:
Police Accountability Task Force (Chicago Police Department )
A 2017 study by departments of Linguistics, Computer Science and Psychology at Stanford found when reviewing footage from body-cams "that officers speak with consistently less respect toward black versus white community members, even after controlling for the race of the officer, the severity of the infraction, the location of the stop, and the outcome of the stop". Community Police Relations The above practices erode community trust and affirm the belief that police members don't value community members. When community members don't trust law enforcement they are less likely to testify as witnesses to homicide- which makes it hard for officers to solve murder. Homicide arrest rates indicate how well residents and law enforcement agencies work together. The homicide arrest rate among 50 American cities is 49.6 percent. In areas with high homicide rates less than 33 percent of murders get solved. It's difficult to get witnesses to testify for 2 reasons:
The issue is bigger than the media. Again, police violence is not a contemporary issue - one of the primary reasons the Black Panther Party formed in 1966. I'm not talking about people simply watching CNN and disliking cops in their words and attitudes. I'm talking about residents not calling police when they or their loved ones are hurt or injured because they fear that police will make it worse and/or don't care. The work of Sociologist David Kirk, Matthew Desmond and Andrew Papachristos illustrate this sentiment. Their study analyzes what happened to crime related 911 calls following one of Milwaukee’s most publicized cases of police violence against an unarmed black man: Mr. Frank Jude was attacked by several off-duty police officers — and one who was on-duty — after being accused of stealing a police badge at a party. Officers boot-stomped his face, snapped his fingers and pressed pens into his ear canals. The lost badge was never recovered. The findings of their study show: "Residents of Milwaukee’s neighbourhoods, especially residents of black neighbourhoods, were far less likely to report crime to the police after Mr. Jude’s beating was reported in the press and the subsequent fallout shook the city. Their work accounted for crime rates, previous calling patterns and several other neighbourhood characteristics. The effect lasted for over a year and resulted in a loss of approximately 22,200 911 calls, a 17 percent reduction in citizen crime reporting, compared with the expected number of calls In the six months after Mr. Jude’s story was published, homicides in Milwaukee jumped 32 percent. Their research suggests that this happened not because the police “got fetal”- which challenges the idea of the "Ferguson effect"- that homicides increase because of increased scrutiny of police forces by activist and the media- but because black residents stopped calling 911, their trust in the justice system in shambles" Research shows that urban neighbourhoods with higher levels of legal cynicism also have higher rates of violent crime: When citizens lose faith in the police, they are more apt to take the law into their own hands" Their findings confirm what the people of Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and other cities have been saying all along: that police violence rips apart the social contract between the criminal justice system and the citizenry, suppressing one of the most basic forms of civic engagement, calling 911 for help" And when murders don't get solved it perpetuates the cycles of violence we see in St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit and Chicago. International Context Again, this is not unique to residents in these enclaves- high rates of victimization occur in any context among any demographic where formal law is missing or weak. The factors that contribute to this are the same everywhere: - Weak legal framework to address crime - Strained relationship between citizens and police -Extralegal forms of justice To illustrate, I was reading an article about homicide in Latin America. Latin America has the world's highest murder rate. The region accounts for a third of the world’s murders—about 400 a day, with almost half of them in Brazil and Mexico. Heres an excerpt: "Yet throughout the region, LESS THAN 20% are solved. This results in an extralegal form of justice: lynching. With little faith in the police or the courts to bring criminals to justice, mobs routinely kill suspected lawbreakers in spontaneous attacks" Sound familiar? Community Profiles According to Criminologist and professor David Kennedy there are 3 communities involved in this dynamic Non-threatening majority Despite living in structurally disenfranchised and disadvantaged neighbourhoods most people most people don't commit crime. Residents want the same thing any group of people would want- a safe environment for their children to live and prosper. People in these communities live with 3 painful realities a) Gun violence and high rates of incarceration b)School Failure c) Deeply troubled relationship with law enforcement particularly the police Police Officers I haven't read enough literature on law enforcement to come to a conclusion on modern day policing. However, I've met lawyers and academics who are very weary of the presence of law enforcement and advocate for alternative measures to community safety. I think to better understand the issue- we have to shift the conversation from individual police officers to policing as an institution.
The answer is no. Policing as an institution has been extremely hostile to the self determination of Black people. Is it any surprise we are here right now? I can already anticipate the retort- “well that’s not the case now” The problem right now is 3 things
When a gang member was asked about gun violence he said "“because they don’t believe in the law. The law don’t work, never will, in my neighbourhood". People don't believe in the law. Nevertheless, I recognize being a police officer is a challenging and dangerous job. I believe most officers are good. I want to believe most want to save lives and protect neighbourhoods. Aggressive forms of policing exist within a context and oftentimes have been asked. However, they don't work and drive a chasm between law enforcement and communities. David Kennedy puts it best "being over policed for the small stuff, and under-policed for the important stuff, alienates the community, undercuts cooperation and fuels private violence: which itself often then drives even more intrusive policing, more alienation, lower clearance rates, and still more violence. The cops write off the community even more; the community writes off the cops even more. Minority The rates of victimization are high but they're driven by a very small group of people-often less than 5 percent of the population within these neighbourhoods. 20 years of research has created a new understanding: homicide is extremely concentrated among a small network of young men - most likely to victimize and be victimized by others. I'm not sure what separates the vast majority of young men who don't offend from the minority that does. However, there's a distinction to be made between men in these networks- those who are called "impact shooters"- gang members who make things happen, make money and shoot people and other men within these networks- who are often scared, follower and wannabes. Even within a gang crew of lets say 20 people only 2 may be impact players. Again, not everyone injured or hurt is a gang member. Those injured or killed can be kids waiting at the bus stop, parents picking up their children from school or just people being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Author Jill Levoy provides another take on gangs: Gangs could seem pointlessly self destructive, but the reason they existed was no mystery. Men and women always tend to group together for protection. They seek advantages in numbers. Unchecked by a state monopoly on violence, such groupings fight, commit crimes, and ascend to factional dominance as conditions permit. Fundamentally, gangs are a consequence of lawlessness, not a cause. The tendency for people to band together when state power is weak is so inevitable it can even seem innate...Without law people use violence collectively to settle scores and right wrongs, and commonly refer to violence as their own law. Wherever law is absent or undeveloped.- wherever it is shabby, ineffective, or disputed- some form of self-policing or communal justice usually emerges. Police, prosecutors, and politicians in L.A. blamed gangs for the homicide problem. They portrayed gangs as formidable nations of organized crime or as an exotic new social disease. But among street officers in South Bureau, doubts sometimes surfaced, a sense that much of way was breathlessly termed “gang culture” was pretty ordinary group behavior. Officers couldn’t help noticing certain inconsistencies, like the way so much gang crime seemed to involve just four or five guys “cliquing up,” in the spirit of a high school locker room, or the way so few gang homicides stemmed from drug deals-and so many from infighting...Gang members in Watts bragged of making large sums. But in the morgue, the rolled wads of dollar bills found inside shoes contradicted them: these were poor people. The black market is a desperate place." Changing the Narrative One of the most frustrating things about engaging Urban Homicide is confronting the narrative surrounding it. I hate how this issue is framed. To illustrate, I've gotten into conversations with people who say "the Black community doesn't care about bl*ck on bl*ck on crime. The Black community needs to address this issue first before having a conversation about how the police treats you guys (which is distorted by Leftist media anyway)." The assumption is that gun violence is an internal problem- pathological culture- that Black people must take accountability for and solve on their own. This notion is not wise or sensible. Aside from being asinine and anti-black it reveals a rudimentary understanding of the problem. Of course I expect individuals and communities most affected to take a leadership role in solving the problem (and from what I've seen they do). However, I've never seen the Opioids epidemic characterized as a white problem with which the "White" community and White leaders must take responsibility and solve on their own. This is because for the most part we recognize the opioids crisis does not occur in a vacuum. Similarly, Urban Homicide doesn't exists in a vacuum- I've already provided the historical context - but Urban Homicide intersects with rule of law, policing, mental health, poverty, neighbourhood planning etc. All stakeholders must be brought to the table in order to reduce the rates of victimization in the case of Urban Homicide in the same way we would expect for Opioids. Those who superficially wag and wave their fingers at Black people about intraracial violence often ignore a major barrier to solving this issue: lack of political will. To illustrate, I was reading an article titled Why Gun Control Ignores Black Lives. It highlights those on the frontlines of this issue and the obstacles they face to solve the problem Here are some excerpts: "When speaking on the response to their request for support Rev. Charles Harrison, a pastor from Indianapolis said, [w]hat was said to us by the White House was, there’s really no support nationally to address the issue of urban violence...The support was to address the issue of gun violence that affected suburban areas — schools where white kids were killed.” I think that people in those communities are perceived as not sufficiently important because they don’t vote, they don’t have economic power,” said Timothy Heaphy, a former U.S. attorney who has spent much of his career focused on urban violence. “I think there’s some racism involved. I don’t think we care about African-American lives as much as we care about white lives.” Former administration officials said they thought it was tragic that the everyday killings of black children did not get more political attention. “I totally agree with their frustrations,” a former official said. “At the same time, when the nation listens, you’ve got to speak, and you don’t get to pick when the nation listens.” I can anticipate the skeptical eye rolls of my friends on the political Right. Say what you will, but the level of response differs based on which people are dying, what they look like and the status they occupy in society. However that's changing. There's been a lot of pushback against the apathy and scorn with which Black people particularly the underclass are spoken about and so I'm optimistic. Contrary to popular belief, residents in neighbourhoods have been on the frontlines rallying for change for years. Which makes so much sense- it's their children, brothers, fathers, husbands and friends dying. Concentrated Centers of Trauma Urban homicide represents an immeasurable level of suffering for all those involved. To illustrate, When the leader of a Christian missionary group asked a group of children in the Cooper housing project [in New Orleans] to name some things they worry about, a 7-year-old girl raised her hand and said 'dying.' After the class, the children ran screaming from the playground when the sound of a machine gun ripped through the air. It was 11:57 A.M." A mother in a different public housing complex in New Orleans r eported, "I got a letter from this one little girl. She said her goal in life was to live to graduate high school (91). Similarly I was reading about 13 year old Sandra Parks a few weeks ago. She was an aspiring writer who wrote an award winning poem about gun violence 2 years ago where she said: "In the city in which I live, I hear and see examples of chaos almost every day. Little children are victims of senseless gun violence," she wrote. "Many people have lost faith in America and its ability to be a living example of Dr. King's dream!" Her life was tragically cut short on November 19th when she was killed by a stray bullet infront of her mom while watching T.V. It's awful. If residents could snap their fingers and make the problem go away I'm sure they would. Shifting Perspectives I see "Urban Homicide'" as the intersection between mental health and the Criminal justice system. An intersection that must be recognized and inform the public’s understanding of communities that are affected by this issue. Urban Homicide compromises the social and mental wellbeing of residents. High exposure to violence in communities severely impacts mental wellness by triggering anxiety, nervousness and nihilism. This was the case for Camiela Williams who is an anti-gun violence advocate. She's 31 years old and has lost 33 friends to gun violence. In her own words “I went through rage, depression. I still can’t sleep,” In a series of nationally funded studies, researchers interviewed 8000 residents from communities most affected by gun violence, unemployment and poverty: - 2/3 of respondents said they had been attacked at some point in their lives - Half knew someone who had been murdered - Of the women who were interviewed, a third had been sexually assaulted ** 30 percent of respondents had symptoms that demonstrate PTSD- a rate as high or higher than that of veterans from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan** - In Chicago's County Cook hospital researchers found 43 percent of those injured and 50 % of those wounded had signs of PTSD This shows the mental toll that high rates of victimization takes on residents, particularly youth and children. One must understand the psychological profiles’ of residents and offenders within this context. This must be taken into account in the same way the psychological profiles of white men who commit mass acts of violence are considered when making moral judgements. Researchers are just beginning to analyze the effects of untreated PTSD on neighbourhoods that are already affected by poverty, unemployment and the War on Drugs. Hospitals treat physical wounds but do little to treat the mental and emotional affects of gun violence. In 2014, ProPublica did a survey of 21 trauma centers in cities most affected and only found 3 centers in New Orleans, Detroit and Richond that regularly screen victims of gun violence for PTSD. "Trauma surgeons said they were aware of the burden of post-traumatic stress on their patients, but it was hard to get hospitals to spend money on new programs or staff to deal with PTSD" (Lois Beckette) Residents need access to mental health services. Urban homicide represents one of the greatest inequalities in America today- the inequality around safety. Neighbourhood safety is the distinction between 2 Americas- one defined by bullets and bodies and another defined by safe streets and neighbourhoods. Urban Homicide significantly decreases the quality of life because residents are forced to live and occupy neighbourhoods that are unsafe. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, individuals cannot self actualize if their basic need for safety is not met. In fact, Urban Homicide undermines the “American Dream” for many Americans. Residents cannot aspire for success when they live in environments that undermine their ability to experience life, liberty and the pursuit” of happiness. In my next article I will make the argument for why you should care, highlight promising solutions to gun violence and profile those doing amazing work on the ground. Until the ink drips, Akua B
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N*gger life’s cheap now,” a white Tennessean offered during Reconstruction, when asked to explain why bl*ck-on-bl*ck killings drew so little notice.”
Black men are 6% of the U.S population but make up 40 % of the United State’s murder victims. The leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 22 to 44 is homicide. They are America's number one murder victims. Before I proceed I just want to provide a disclaimer: most black men in the U.S.A are doing well. I can't stress this enough. As we tend to approach "Black" people, communities and men from a deficit perceptive. Perhaps a bit redundant for my regular readers, but I'll continue to cite a new report by the American Enterprise Institute, “Black Men Making it in America,” which uses Census data to show that African-American men are succeeding in the United States:
The issue of urban homicide occurs at the intersection of race and class. We don't see the rates of victimization in affluent African American communities such as Baldwin Hills (Black Beverly Hills), View Park- Windsor Hill, Ladera Heights California, Mitchelleville Maryland, Fort Washington, HillCrest, Uniondale etc. African American communities I wish more people knew about. When I say Black men I'm talking about men from what researchers have dubbed the underclass. There are 4 Black Americas according to Eugene Robinson, columnist for the Washington Post:
Furthermore, urban homicide is just one of 4 gun violence problems in America. The other ones being suicide which largely affects white men, domestic violence which largely affects women and mass shootings that affect everyone. The causes and solutions to each vary. Moreover, most Black people are killed by other black people. This is not groundbreaking or out of the ordinary. According to the FBI’s uniform crime-reporting data for 2016, 90.1 percent of black victims of homicide were killed by other blacks, while 83.5 percent of whites were killed by other whites. And one of the reasons is proximity. People tend to kill people they live close to. But the question remains why does intraracial violence persist in urban enclaves? Why are the victimization rates higher in places such as St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, L.A and Chicago? I'll be providing helpful excerpts from the novel Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America . As I believe the excerpts speak for themselves. And will be adding my own commentary when appropriate. Historical Origin The novel Ghettoside offers a very simple explaination: where the criminal justice system fails to respond vigorously to violent injury and death, homicide becomes endemic. "Black America has not benefited from what Max Weber calls a state monopoly on violence- the government's exclusive right to exercise legitimate force. A monopoly provides citizens with legal autonomy, the liberating knowledge that the government will pursue anyone who violates their personal safety." "But Chattle slavery, Jim Crow, and conditions across much of Black America for generations after worked against the formation of such a monopoly where Blacks were concerned. Since personal violence inevitably flared where the state's monopoly is absent, this situation results in the deaths of thousands of Americans each year." Black Americans are not more criminal. Not more violent. Not culturally inferior. It's what I knew all along: Africans Americans and all other people of African descent are human. And humans have killed each other for most of human history. Until the intervention of law. However African Americans have existed outside the establishment of law and that is the number one reason why intraracial violence persists. Poor African American communities do not suffer from lack of law enforcement presence but they suffer from the abscence of law. This is not unique to African Americans. What people call the "Monster"- high rates of homicide- lurks in the shadows in any place "where formal law is weak." The Monster "It’s like a default setting. Wherever human beings are forced to deal with each other under conditions of weak legal authority...The ancient Greeks wrote of the Furies, hideous black gorgons who held grudges and rasped, “Get him, get him, get him. They could only be subdued by law." "The Monster's source was not general perversity of mind in the population that suffered. It was a weak legal apparatus that had long failed to place black injuries and the loss of black lives at the heart of its response when mobilizing the law, first in the South and later in segregated cities. The cases didn't get solved, and year after year, assaults piled upon another, black men got shot up and killed, no one answered for it, and no one really cared much." Worldwide Phenomena We see high murder rates among Indigenious communities in Canada and South Africa. To ethnic immigrants in Switzerland, England, Wales, Netherlands and Italy. To Palestinians in Israel. High murder rates in certain groups are a worldwide phenomenon. It exist among these groups not because they are more culturally violent but because they live outside the protection of the law. Historical Context and Result "For people of all colours, the south was a stew of factors that produced homicide- a place where law remained a contested prize in a low level, unfinished revolution. But black people experienced law, both its action and inaction, as a systematic extension of the campaign of terrorist violence that brought an end to Reconstruction and stripped them of their rights under the Constitution. One of my biggest frustrations with discussions on race is the vague language commentators employ. Words like "systematic racism" and "institutional racism" are often poorly defined and mean different things to different people. What I lament most is our inability to provide concrete examples of anti-blackness on mass scale in North America. This creates a lot of skepticism on the part of listeners and we are losing people by the minute. Urban homicide turns that skepticism on its head. The failure of major institutions to effectively protect and prosecute anyone who violates black lives is the greatest example of systematic racism and anti-blackness in contemporary America. "Forty years after the the civil rights movement, impunity for the murder of black men remained America's great, though mostly invisible, race problem. The institutions of criminal justice, so remorseless in other ways in an era of get tough sentencing and "preventive" policing, remained feeble when it came to answering for the lives of black murder victims." As a radical centrist who identifies as a Black conservative I take a serious issue with how the political right discusses this issue. It's common knowledge that as right wingers we pat ourselves on the back for honouring statistics and data. In regards to Urban homicide we've failed to communicate very important information. And in the process we've hardened the hearts of people who would otherwise be allies. We perpetuate anti-blackness every time we bring up this issue without providing the context with which urban homicide was birthed and nourished- Chattel slavery and Jim Crow. This is not me invoking victimhood for I wish it wasn't so. I know we'd prefer to deduce this problem to culture but that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Perhaps if we were less concerned about the supposed absurdity of safe spaces and micro-aggressions more black communities (who are often socially conservative) would identify with us. (African Americans and other communities in the Diaspora have their own rich Conservative tradition()s but that's another article for a another day *winks*) But we're not. We spend more time railing against the "evil left" and have created generation of millennials and youngsters who revel in quoting murder statistics, dismiss genuine concerns about how certain communities are policed and wield anti-black rhetoric that is largely ahistorical and unhelpful. What are people fighting about? 'The fights might be spontaneous, part of some long-running feud, or the culmination of “some drama,” as Skaggs would put it. These male “dramas,” he observed, were not so different from those among quarrelling women of the projects. In fact, they were often extensions of them. The observation fit scores of killing in L.A that cops chalked up to “female problems.” "The smallest ghettoside spat seemed to escalate to violence, as of absent law, people were left with no other means of bringing a dispute to a close. Debts and competition over goods and women-especially women-drove many killings. But insults, snitching, drunken antics, and the classic- unwanted party guest - also were common homicide motives". Shadow Legal System According to Thomas Ab, when poor communities do not receive equal justice, they do what anyone would do - they take justice into their own hands. This has resulted in self-policing in the form of an extralegal system. "The state's inability to catch and punish even a bare majority of murderers in black enclaves such as Watts was itself a root cause of the violence, and that this was a terrible problem- perhaps the most terrible thing in contemporary American life." "It’s a huge incentive for retaliation if someone killed your brother and they’re walking around the neighborhood and the police aren’t going to do anything about it. The temptation to retaliate yourself becomes much greater". "In the dim early stirrings of civilization, many scholars believe, law itself was developed as a response to legal “self-help”: people’s desire to settle their own scores. Rough justice slowly gave way to organized state monopolies on violence. The low homicide rates of some modern democracies are, perhaps, an aberration in human history. They were built, as the scholar Erich Monkkonen said, not by any formal act, but “by a much longer development process whereby individuals willingly giving up their implicit power to the state”. "There are many challenges to this viewpoint, and many variations on it. But history shows us that lawlessness is its own kind order. Murder outbreaks, seen this way, are more than just the proliferation of discrete crimes. They are part of a whole system of interactions determined by the absence of law. European history offers a panoply of rough justice systems based on personal vengeance, blood feuds, shaming rituals, and sundry forms of retributive and clan violence". "Black protest against overzealous police and prosecutors remains a cherished template for left-leaning critics of criminal justice.But another,profound grievance of the period went mostly ignored- the inadequacy of official response to intraracial violence". Summary of Causes of Intraracial Murder
In the next article I will talk about the neighbourhoods most affected, men and women doing working on the ground and some possible solutions. Until the ink drops, Akua B **Disclaimer: I will be incorporating a lot of excerpts, articles and studies in-order to prove my point. Please bear with me**
Homicide and police violence are not contemporary issues. For centuries the criminal justice system and law enforcement failed to protect and serve Black citizens. Law enforcement agencies sanctioned violence by turning a blind eye to the murder of black men in the American south and later in northern cities, during and after the Great migration. Today law enforcement agencies perpetuate this legacy through misconduct and abuse of power. To illustrate, the Department of Justice found the Ferguson Police Department:
Police Accountability Task Force (Chicago Police Department )
Policing killings have dominated national dialogue but I want to shift the conversation to non lethal interactions between police and community members. Most people won't die in their interaction with law enforcement but unpleasant interactions affect the type of relationship residents have with police. A 2017 study by departments of Linguistics, Computer Science and Psychology at Stanford found when reviewing footage from body-cams "that officers speak with consistently less respect toward black versus white community members, even after controlling for the race of the officer, the severity of the infraction, the location of the stop, and the outcome of the stop". Community Police Relations The above practices erode community trust and affirm the belief that police members don't value community members. When community members don't trust law enforcement they are less likely to testify as witnesses to homicide- which makes it hard for officers to solve murder. Homicide arrest rates indicate how well residents and law enforcement agencies work together. The homicide arrest rate among 50 American cities is 49.6 percent. In areas with high homicide rates less than 33 percent of murders get solved. It's difficult to get witnesses to testify for 2 reasons:
So the response to this conversation is often - "yes police violence exist but the media (and the Left) have created a skewed narrative that unjustly makes cops look bad and Black people perpetual victims when they are not". The issue is bigger than the media. Again, police violence is not a contemporary issue - one of the primary reasons the Black Panther Party formed in 1966. I'm not talking about people simply watching CNN and disliking cops in their words and attitudes. I'm talking about residents not calling police when they or their loved ones are hurt or injured because they fear that police will make it worse and/or don't care. The work of Sociologist David Kirk, Matthew Desmond and Andrew Papachristos illustrate this sentiment. Their study analyzes what happened to crime related 911 calls following one of Milwaukee’s most publicized cases of police violence against an unarmed black man: Mr. Frank Jude was attacked by several off-duty police officers — and one who was on-duty — after being accused of stealing a police badge at a party. Officers boot-stomped his face, snapped his fingers and pressed pens into his ear canals. The lost badge was never recovered. The findings of their study show: "Residents of Milwaukee’s neighbourhoods, especially residents of black neighbourhoods, were far less likely to report crime to the police after Mr. Jude’s beating was reported in the press and the subsequent fallout shook the city. Their work accounted for crime rates, previous calling patterns and several other neighbourhood characteristics. The effect lasted for over a year and resulted in a loss of approximately 22,200 911 calls, a 17 percent reduction in citizen crime reporting, compared with the expected number of calls In the six months after Mr. Jude’s story was published, homicides in Milwaukee jumped 32 percent. Their research suggests that this happened not because the police “got fetal”- which challenges the idea of the "Ferguson effect"- that homicides increase because of increased scrutiny of police forces by activist and the media- but because black residents stopped calling 911, their trust in the justice system in shambles" Research shows that urban neighbourhoods with higher levels of legal cynicism also have higher rates of violent crime: When citizens lose faith in the police, they are more apt to take the law into their own hands" Their findings confirm what the people of Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and other cities have been saying all along: that police violence rips apart the social contract between the criminal justice system and the citizenry, suppressing one of the most basic forms of civic engagement, calling 911 for help" And when murders don't get solved it perpetuates the cycles of violence we see in St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit and Chicago. International Context Again, this is not unique to residents in these enclaves- high rates of victimization occur in any context among any demographic where formal law is missing or weak. The factors that contribute to this are the same everywhere: - Weak legal framework to address crime - Strained relationship between citizens and police -Extralegal forms of justice To illustrate, I was reading an article about homicide in Latin America. Latin America has the world's highest murder rate. The region accounts for a third of the world’s murders—about 400 a day, with almost half of them in Brazil and Mexico. Heres an excerpt: "Yet throughout the region, LESS THAN 20% are solved. This results in an extralegal form of justice: lynching. With little faith in the police or the courts to bring criminals to justice, mobs routinely kill suspected lawbreakers in spontaneous attacks" Sound familiar? Community Profiles According to Criminologist and professor David Kennedy there are 3 communities involved in this dynamic 1. Non-threatening majority Despite living in structurally disenfranchised socially disadvantaged neighbourhood most people in these communities don't commit crime. Residents want the same thing any group of people would want- a safe environment for their children to live and prosper. People in these communities live with 3 painful realities a) Gun violence and high rates of incarceration b)School Failure c) Deeply troubled relationship with law enforcement particularly the police 2. Police Officers I haven't read enough literature on law enforcement to come to a conclusion on modern day policing. However, I've met lawyers and academics who are very weary of the presence of law enforcement and advocate for alternative measures to community safety. I think to better understand the issue- we have to shift the conversation from individual police officers to policing as an institution.
The answer is no. Policing as an institution has been extremely hostile to the aspirations of Black people. Is it any surprise we are here right now? I can already anticipate the retort- “well that’s not the case now” The problem right now is 3 things
This type of adversarial relation is common even expected among communities that have been hurt by the law. For example, I was at a panel discussion about Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and one of the speakers who is a lawyer and professor said she would never call police when in trouble. People don't believe in the law. When a gang member was asked about gun violence he said "“because they don’t believe in the law. The law don’t work, never will, in my neighbourhood". Nevertheless, I recognize being a police officer is a challenging and dangerous job. I believe most officers are good. I want to believe most want to save lives and protect neighbourhoods. Aggressive forms of policing exist within a context and oftentimes have been asked. However, they don't work and drive a chasm between law enforcement and communities. David Kennedy puts it best "being over policed for the small stuff, and under-policed for the important stuff, alienates the community, undercuts cooperation and fuels private violence: which itself often then drives even more intrusive policing, more alienation, lower clearance rates, and still more violence. The cops write off the community even more; the community writes off the cops even more. 3. Minority The rates of victimization are high but they're driven by a very small group of people-often less than 5 percent of the population within these neighbourhoods. 20 years of research has created a new understanding: homicide is extremely concentrated among a small network of young men - most likely to victimize and be victimized by others. I'm not sure what separates the vast majority of young men who don't offend from the minority that does. However, there's a distinction to be made between men in these networks- those who are called "impact shooters"- gang members who make things happen, make money and shoot people and other men within these networks- who are often scared, follower and wannabes. Even within a gang crew of lets say 20 people only 2 may be impact players. Again, not everyone injured or hurt is a gang member. Those injured or killed can be kids waiting at the bus stop, parents picking up their children from school or just people being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Author Jill Levoy provides another take on gang Gangs could seem pointlessly self destructive, but the reason they existed was no mystery. Men and women always tend to group together for protection. They seek advantages in numbers. Unchecked by a state monopoly on violence, such groupings fight, commit crimes, and ascend to factional dominance as conditions permit. Fundamentally, gangs are a consequence of lawlessness, not a cause. The tendency for people to band together when state power is weak is so inevitable it can even seem innate...Without law people use violence collectively to settle scores and right wrongs, and commonly refer to violence as their own law. Wherever law is absent or undeveloped.- wherever it is shabby, ineffective, or disputed- some form of self-policing or communal justice usually emerges. Police, prosecutors, and politicians in L.A. blamed gangs for the homicide problem. They portrayed gangs as formidable nations of organized crime or as an exotic new social disease. But among street officers in South Bureau, doubts sometimes surfaced, a sense that much of way was breathlessly termed “gang culture” was pretty ordinary group behavior. Officers couldn’t help noticing certain inconsistencies, like the way so much gang crime seemed to involve just four or five guys “cliquing up,” in the spirit of a high school locker room, or the way so few gang homicides stemmed from drug deals-and so many from infighting...Gang members in Watts bragged of making large sums. But in the morgue, the rolled wads of dollar bills found inside shoes contradicted them: these were poor people. The black market is a desperate place." Changing the Narrative One of the most frustrating things about engaging Urban Homicide is confronting the narrative surrounding it. I hate how this issue is framed. To illustrate, I've gotten into conversations with people who say "the Black community doesn't care about bl*ck on bl*ck on crime. The Black community needs to address this issue first before having a conversation about how the police treats you guys (which is distorted by Leftist media anyway). The assumption is that gun violence is an internal problem- pathological culture- that Black people must take accountability for and solve on their own. This notion is not wise or sensible. Aside from being asinine and anti-black it reveals a rudimentary understanding of the problem. Of course I expect individuals and communities most affected to take a leadership role in solving the problem (and they do from what I've seen). However, I've never seen the Opoids epidemic characterized as a white problem with which the "White" community and white leaders must take responsibility and solve on their own. This is because for the most part we recognize the opoiod crisis does not occur in a vacuum. Similarly, Urban Homicide doesn't exists in a vacum- I've already provided the historical context - but Urban Homicide intersects with rule of law, policing, mental health, poverty, neighbourhood planning etc. All stakeholders must be brought to the table in order to reduce the rates of victimization in the case of Urban Homicide in the same way we would expect for Opioids. Those who wag and wave their fingers at Black people about intraracial violence (which is often disingenuous) often ignore a major barrier to solving this issue: lack of political will. To illustrate, I was reading an article titled Why Gun Control Ignores Black Lives. It highlights those on the frontlines of this issue and the obstacles they face to solve the problem Here are some excerpts: "When speaking on the response to their request for support Rev. Charles Harrison, a pastor from Indianapolis said, [w]hat was said to us by the White House was, there’s really no support nationally to address the issue of urban violence...The support was to address the issue of gun violence that affected suburban areas — schools where white kids were killed.” I think that people in those communities are perceived as not sufficiently important because they don’t vote, they don’t have economic power,” said Timothy Heaphy, a former U.S. attorney who has spent much of his career focused on urban violence. “I think there’s some racism involved. I don’t think we care about African-American lives as much as we care about white lives.” Former administration officials said they thought it was tragic that the everyday killings of black children did not get more political attention. “I totally agree with their frustrations,” a former official said. “At the same time, when the nation listens, you’ve got to speak, and you don’t get to pick when the nation listens.” I can anticipate the skeptical eye rolls of my friends on the political Right. Say what you will, but the level of response differs based on which people are dying, what they look like and the status they occupy in society. However that's changing. There's been a lot of pushback against the apathy and scorn with which Black people particularly the underclass received. I'm optimistic. Contrary to popular belief, residents in neighbourhoods have been on the frontlines rallying for change for years. Which makes so much sense- it's their children, brothers, fathers, husbands and friends dying. Centres of Trauma Urban homicide represents an immeasurable level of suffering for all those involved. To illustrate, When the leader of a Christian missionary group asked a group of children in the Cooper housing project [in New Orleans] to name some things they worry about, a 7-year-old girl raised her hand and said 'dying.' After the class, the children ran screaming from the playground when the sound of a machine gun ripped through the air. It was 11:57 A.M." A mother in a different public housing complex in New Orleans r eported, "I got a letter from this one little girl. She said her goal in life was to live to graduate high school (91). Similarly I was reading about 13 year old Sandra Parks a few weeks ago. She was an aspiring writer who wrote an award winning poem about gun violence 2 years ago where she said: "In the city in which I live, I hear and see examples of chaos almost every day. Little children are victims of senseless gun violence," she wrote. "Many people have lost faith in America and its ability to be a living example of Dr. King's dream!" Her life was tragically ended on November 19th when she was killed by a stray bullet in her bedroom. I can't stand those who wave and wag their fingers at Black people as if we don't know its awful. It residents could snap their fingers to make this problem go away they wouldn't ? Shifting Perspectives I see "Urban Homicide'" as the intersection between mental health and the Criminal justice system. An intersection that must be recognized and inform the public’s understanding of communities that are affected by this issue. Urban Homicide compromises the social and mental wellbeing of residents. High exposure to violence in communities severely impacts mental wellness by triggering anxiety, nervousness and nihilism. This was the case for Camiela Williams who is an anti-gun violence advocate. She's 31 years old and has lost 33 friends to gun violence. In her own words “I went through rage, depression. I still can’t sleep,” In a series of nationally funded studies, researchers interviewed 8000 residents from communities most affected by gun violence, unemployment and poverty: - 2/3 of respondents said they had been attacked at some point in their lives - Half knew someone who had been murdered - Of the women who were interviewed, a third had been sexually assaulted ** 30 percent of respondents had symptoms that demonstrate PTSD- a rate as high or higher than that of veterans from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan** - In Chicago's County Cook hospital researchers found 43 percent of those injured had signs of PTSD This shows the mental toll that high rates of victimization takes on residents, particularly youth and children. One must understand the psychological profiles’ of residents and offenders within these context. This is because high rates of exposure to violence increases one’s inclination to risky behaviour and likelihood to be a perpetuator of violence. This must be taken into account in the same way the psychological profiles of white men who commit mass acts of violence are considered when making moral judgements. Researchers are just beginning to analyze the effects of untreated PTSD on neighbourhoods that are already affected by poverty, unemployment and the War on Drugs. Little is being done to address the growing evidence Hospitals treat physical wounds but do little to treat the mental and emotional affects of gun violence. In 2014, ProPublica did a survey of 21 tramau centers in cities most affected and only found 3 centers in New Orleans, Detroit and Richond that regularly screen victims of gun violence for PTSD. "Trauma surgeons said they were aware of the burden of post-traumatic stress on their patients, but it was hard to get hospitals to spend money on new programs or staff to deal with PTSD" (Lois Beckette) Residents need access to mental health services. Urban homicide represents one of the greatest inequalities in America today- the inequality around safety. Neighbourhood safety is the distinction between 2 Americas- one defined by bullets and bodies and another defined by safe streets and neighbourhoods. Urban Homicide significantly decreases the quality of life because residents are forced to live and occupy neighborhoods that are unsafe. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, individuals cannot self actualize if their basic need for safety is not met. In fact, Urban Homicide undermines the “American Dream” for many Americans. Residents cannot aspire for success when they live in environments that undermine their ability to experience life, liberty and the pursuit” of happiness. In my next article I will make the argument for why you should care, highlight promising solutions to gun violence and profile those doing amazing work on the ground. Until the ink drips, Akua B I don’t hate Black men. All of them are unique individuals with purpose. Black men along with everyone else are precious image bearers endowed with dignity and value. God knows each of their names and has a plan for each of them.
Most black men in the United States are doing well. A new report by the American Enterprise Institute, “Black Men Making it in America,” uses Census data to show that African-American men are succeeding in the United States:
The Trap I don’t hate black men. What I hate is the caricature of black men paraded on T.V in western media. What I hate is what black men are expected to be by society, media and their peers. What I hate is the constant pathologizing. The paternalism. What I hate is the spectrum black men occupy as either victim or vermin. I hate that many young men internalize these ideals and hold each other to incredibly low and destructive standards. I hate the overbearing presence of the non-black gaze. I hate that everyone is always talking at or too black men. I hate the term “black men”- an anti-intellectual term and concept that was thrust onto our ancestors in 1492- an ideology that erases ethnicity and individuality. I hate what Harvard Sociologist Orlando Patterson calls, “the Dionysian trap for young black men- a trap that includes hanging out on the street after school, shopping and dressing sharply, sexual conquests, party drugs, hip hop music and culture, the fact that almost all the superstar athletes and a great many of the nations’ best entertainers were black”. I don’t think stereotypes are true. I think they become self fulfilling prophecies. I see the above as uniquely Western constructions. Outside of the West High educational attainment is not a problem for black boys in African and Caribbean countries. They know they are smart. They know they are capable. They know that blackness, authenticity and intelligence are not mutually exclusive and are not qualities that elude them. They know they possess bronze and brains. The same must be for young men growing up in the United States, Canada and the U.K. The children of recent African immigrants have one of the highest educational attainments for Canada, the U.S and the U.K. And I want that to be a reality for all diasporic communties. Why Young Men My desire to maximize our educational attainment led me to the book Why Young Men: Race, Rage and Identity by Jamil Jivani. Jamil Jivani is a Canadian lawyer, professor, social entrepreneur and community organizer. I love this book as it offered valuable insights From his perspective here are some of the things that hurt young men:
I think sagging pants are hella sloppy. They turn me off. I would even go as far to say its anti-social behaviour. Nevertheless sagged pants are not sinister. They don’t make you a criminal. Sagged pants, being rambunctious, using African American Vernacular English doesn’t make you worthy of scorn or fear. White People I hate bringing up “white people” and other non-black communities and go out of my way not the talk about them. Nevertheless it is true “white” people have levied violence around the world (obviously this is within context). Europeans have inflicted generational violence that communities are still reeling from. But do you cross the street when you see white men? Do you hold your purse tighter in the presence of white men fearing they might snatch your purse like they snatched Turtle Island. Do you use the depressing and often violent lyrics of emo and heavy metal as proof that white men are a danger to themselves and the world? Do you use the increasing rates of suicide, mass shootings perpetrated by and the large representation of white men among INCELS as proof of their cultural inferiority? Do you use the deviant behaviours of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and many others to validate your disdain for white men? Then why do we do that to black men? Why do we constantly talk about them as if they are uniquely troubled? My goal is to see every human being through the eyes of the creator. When I look at a young black man or any individual for that matter I want to see what God sees. For Black Women... I love black men because I love black women. Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the states and have ever increasing graduation rates. We are killing it! However, the educational disparities for particular groups of black men severely hurts black women. For every college educated black man we produce we produce 2 college educated black women as well. For example, In 2008, there was 125,000 African American women enrolled in graduate school, but only 58,000 African American men. The African American gender gap is also substantial in traditionally prestigious professions such as Law and Medicine. According to data complied by the National Center for educational statistics, Black women received 751 medical degrees and 1893 law degrees in 2008, while Black men received only 396 medical degrees and 1109 law degrees. Despite Black women beginning to expand their marriage pool beyond black men the vast majority will continue to partner with black men. According to political think tank Brookings, “in order to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty for black Americans it requires a transformation in the economic outcomes for black men, particularly in terms of earnings”. We need to elevate the educational and economic prospects for black men. For themselves, for black women, their communities and the betterment of the world. And black men must lead this charge. All that incredible human capital that our young men exhibit and display must be tapped into. I want this because I believe people of African descent are worthy of the best just like everyone else. Next Steps:
Until the ink drips, Akua B “N*gger life’s cheap now,” a white Tennessean offered during Reconstruction, when asked to explain why bl*ck-on-bl*ck killings drew so little notice.”
Black men are 6% of the U.S population but make up 40 % of the United State’s murder victims. The leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 22 to 44 is homicide. They are America's number one murder victim. Before I proceed I just want to provide a disclaimer; most black men in the U.S.A are doing well. I can't stress this enough as we tend to approach "Black" people, communities and men from a deficit perceptive. Perhaps a bit redundant for my regular readers, but I'll continue to cite a new report by the American Enterprise Institute, “Black Men Making it in America,” uses Census data to show that African-American men are succeeding in the United States:
The issue of urban homicide occurs at the intersection of race and class. We don't see the rates of victimization in affluent African American communities such as Baldwin Hills (Black Beverly Hills), View Park- Windsor Hill, Ladera Heights California, Mitchelleville Maryland, Fort Washington, HillCrest, Uniondale etc. African American communities I wish more people knew about. When I say Black men I'm talking about men from what researchers have dubbed the underclass. There are 4 Black Americas according to Eugene Robinson, columnist for the Washington Post:
Furthermore, urban homicide is just one of 4 gun violence problems in America. The other ones being suicide which largely affects white men, domestic violence which largely affects women and mass shootings that affect everyone. The causes and solutions to each vary. Moreover, most Black people are killed by other black people. This is not groundbreaking. One of the reasons is because of proximity. Most Americans are killed by other Americans. And most whites are killed by other white people.But the question remains why is the rate of intraracial violence higher in urban enclaves? I'll be providing excerpts from the novel Ghettoside as well as my own commentary Historical Context The novel Ghettoside offers a very simple explaination: where the criminal justice system fails to respond vigorously to violent injury and death, homicide becomes endemic. "Black America has not benefited from what Max Weber called a state monopoly on violence- the governments exclusive rights to exercise legitimate force. A monopoly provides citizens with legal autonomy, the liberating knowledge that the government will pursue anyone who violates their personal safety." "But Chattle slavery, Jim Crow, and conditions across much of black America for generations after worked against the formation of such a monopoly where blacks were concerned. Since personal violence inevitably flared where the state's monopoly is absent, this situation results in the deaths of thousands of Americans each year." Black Americans are not more criminal. Not more violent. Not culturally inferior. It's what I knew all along: Africans Americans and all other people of African descent are human. And humans have killed each other for much of human history. Until the intervention of law. However African Americans have existed outside of the establishment of law and that is the number one reason why intraracial violence persists. Poor African American communities don't suffer from lack of law enforcment but they suffer from the abscence of law. This is not unique to African Americans. What people call the "Monster"- high rates of homicide- lurks in the shadows in any place "where formal law is weak." Worldwide Phenomena "Thus, some Indian tribes in Canada and the U.S have disproportionate homicide rates, as do ethnic and immigrants enclaves in Switzerland, England, Wales and Italy. In the peaceful Netherlands, non Dutch ethnics suffer many times the homicide rate of their Dutch compatriots. Eighteenth century rates among settlers on the wilde edge of the American colonies were almost exactly those of South Central blacks in the twenty first century. In the town of Tira, Israel, today, Arab citizens of Israel also suffer a homicide rate similar to that of black South Central." The Monster "It’s like a default setting. Wherever human beings are forced to deal with each other under conditions of weak legal authority, the Monster lurks. The ancient Greeks wrote of the Furies, hideous black gorgons who held grudges and rasped, “Get him, get him, get him. They could only be subdued only by law." "The Monster's source was not general perversity of mind in the population that suffered. It was a weak legal apparatus that had long failed to place black injuries and the loss of black lives at the heart of its response when mobilizing the law, first in the South and later in segregated cities. The cases didn't get solved, and year after year, assaults piled upon another, black men got shot up and killed, no one answered for it, and no one really cared much." The Result "Forty years after the the civil rights movement, impunity for the murder of black men remained America's great, though mostly invisible, race problem. The institutions of criminal justice, so remorseless in other ways in an era of get tough sentencing and "preventing" policing, remained feeble when it came to answering for the lives of black murder victims." It might not seem self evident that impunity for white violence against blacks would engender black-on-black on murder. But when people are stripped of legal protection and placed in desperate straits, they are more, not less, likely to turn on each other. Lawless setting are terrifying, if people can do whatever they want to each other, there are always enough bullies to make it ugly... But community spawns community justice; the village gives rise to the feud. The condition of being thrown together just because they were the same skin colour should be considered one of the injustices black people suffered in segregation. For people of all colours, the south was a stew of factors that produced homicide- a place where law remained a contested prize in a low level , unfinished revolution. But black people experienced law, both its action and inaction, as a systematic extension of the campaign of terrorist violence that brought an end to Reconstruction and stripped them of their rights under the Constitution. Black protest against overzealous police and prosecutors remains a cherished template for left-leaning critics of criminal justice. But another, profound grievance of the period went mostly ignored- the inadequacy of official response to intraracial violence. What are people fighting about? The fights might be spontaneous, part of some long-running feud, or the culmination of “some drama,” as Skaggs would put it. These male “dramas,” he observed, were not so different from those among quarreling women of the projects. In fact, they were often extensions of them. The observation fit scores of killing in L.A that cops chalked up to “female problems.” The smallest ghettoside spat seemed to escalate to violence, as of absent law, people were left with no other means of bringing a dispute to a close. Debts and competition over goods and women-especially women-drove many killings. But insults, snitching, drunken antics, and the classic- unwanted party guest - also were common homicide motives. Small conflicts divided people into hostile camps and triggered lasting feuds. “Grudges!” Skaggs would exclaim: to him the word summed up scores of cases. Every grudge seemed to harbour explosive potential. It would ignite when antagonists met by chance in the streets or in liquor stores. Vengeance was a staple motive. In some circles, retaliation for murder was considered all but mandatory. It was striking how openly people discussed it, even debating the merits from pulpit at funerals. Shadow Legal System The alternate ghettoside “law” in Watts was exactly like this- a vague and sinister force transcending any body of definite rules. The shadow system had long ago evolved to the point that a mere hard look or the sucking of a tooth conveyed its lethal force The void of law was filled with an extralegal system, In the dim early stirrings of civilization, many scholars believe, law itself was developed as a response to legal “self-help”: people’s desire to settle their own scores. Rough justice slowly gave way to organized state monopolies on violence. The low homicide rates of some modern democracies are, perhaps, an aberration in human history. They were built, as the scholar Erich Monkkonen said, not by any formal act, but “by a much longer development process whereby individuals willingly giving up their implicit power to the state” There are many challenges to this viewpoint, and many variations on it. But history shows us that lawlessness is its own kind order. Murder outbreaks, seen this way, are more than just the proliferation of discrete crimes. They are part of a whole system of interactions determined by the absence of law. European history offers a panoply of rough justice systems based on personal vengeance, blood feuds, shaming rituals, and sundry forms of retributive and clan violence. Frequent homicide was a part of this picture High homicide rates have also been recorded among hunter-gatherer peoples and other societies without elaborate legal structures. Summary of Causes of Intraracial Murder
In the next article I will talk about the neighbourhoods most affected, men and women doing working on the ground and possible solutions Until the ink drops, Akua B Black Lives Matters has taken the world by storm. Black Lives Matter was created by 3 Queer Black women. It describes itself as “a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes”.
The emergence of Black Lives Matter followed the death of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Erika Boyd, Philando Castile, Tanisha Anderson, Charleena Lyles, Freddie Gray and other unarmed African Americans at the hands of law enforcement. Black Lives Matter has helped create a national conversation in the media, accademia and the public square around the value we place on the lives of black men and women in the world, particularly in the United States. They describe their mission as one of “connecting Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. The impetus for that commitment was, and still is, the rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us by the state. Some of its chapters such as Toronto have drawn criticism for its confrontational methods. The issue of police violence is very sensitive. It is not a contemporary issue. Police violence continues to rear its ugly head throughout American history most famously displayed in the case of Rodney King in 1992. According to John McWhorter it is the main reason African Americans believe anti-black racism pervades American society. Despite the expansion of the middle class and reduced poverty and unemployment rates. The proliferation of camera phones has brought the reality into the T.V and computer screens of many who were otherwise oblivious. If I am being honest I am still learning about the issue and weighing the claims of Black Lives Matter. For it is more complex than political pundits make it out to be. As of now I believe intraracial murder is the biggest threat to black lives. Nevertheless, we should be concerned about lives lost to those sworn to serve and protect citizens. The images of young men and women being choked out or shot as they flee law enforcement should disturb us. We can tackle police violence and interracial murder simultaneously as they are connected. Intraracial murder is a gotcha issue for many on the political right. Many use it to dismiss the valid concerns over the relationship between police and diasporic communties. I’ve seen many jump at the chance to pathologize African American communities as morally reprobate, culturally inferior and unattuned to their own needs. The charge is often “why don’t you guys care about black on black crime? “What about Chicago"? I think this sort of political showing is disgusting. The deaths of black men in urban enclaves are not to be used as punches in political warfare. They are not just nameless statistics. These are brothers, fathers, friends and most importantly human beings. It's a lie from the pits of hell to say that African Americans and other diasporic communities don’t care about intraracial murder. We do. I care. A lot. There are many people and organizations working to reduce the carnage in urban enclaves across North American cities. I know this because I've spent hours with members of various black communities brainstorming solutions for murder. Nevertheless, many of us respond, and perhaps misguided, to these charges by diminishing the high rates of victimization and the carnage happening on the ground. Black men are 6% of the U.S population but make up 40 % of the United State’s murder victims. They are the U.S’s number one murder victims according to Jill Levoy. And I didn't understand why this was. The only answers afforded to me were either that black people were culturally violent or victims of poverty. Both explanations left me unsatisfied. My search for answers led me to Ghettoside: a story of murder in America. A novel by Jill Levoy. This book has been a blessing. My eyes fill with tears as I recall what I’ve read. The book is intimate and personal. It demonstrates the urgency of the issue and provides context without patholgizing the communities involved. It has reaffirmed my commitment to create healthy communities. I look foward to highlighting what I've learned in the next article. Until the ink drips, Akua B White Privilege. This concept incites rage for many and relief for others.
White Privilege was a term coined by White feminist Peggy Mcintosh in 1983. She describd White Privilege “as an invisible package of unearned assets white people could count on cashing in each day, but about which they were "meant" to remain oblivious. She said “White privilege was like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.." The following are some examples of white privllege:
The website “Teaching Tolerance” further elaborates by saying that “white skin privilege is a transparent preference for whiteness that saturates our society. White skin privilege serves several functions. First, it provides white people with 1. “perks” that they do not earn and that people of color do not enjoy 2. it creates real advantages for White people. White people are immune to a lot of challenges 3.White privilege shapes the world in which we live — the way that we navigate and interact with one another and with the world". The ideas above have recently re- entered popular discourse. And I’ve been trying my best to find the right words to describe my thoughts on “white privilege” as it is one of the pillars of modern progressivism. To help me I’ve read the works of writers such as Ta-nehisi Coates and others who believe white privilege is deeply entrenched in North America particularly in the United States. These authors believe we live in a society that privileges people for being white and as a result gives them advantages to the detriments of Black people. On the other hand I have watched the cultural commentary of Ben Shapiro and read National Review, an online newspaper that asserts that white privilege is not as pervasive as Leftist claim, harms black people and is rather offensive to white people. White Advantages I believe White Privilege exists. For me White Privilege is best articulated as: having your personal identity precede over your racial identity. One incident from my life best demonstrates this sentiment: I was having a conversation with one of my favourite teachers and he asked me if I get annoyed with other students, who happen to be black, who misbehave. His point was that they make “good” black people like me look bad. And that their actions will be used to affirm negative stereotypes people have about black youth. Initially, what he said pissed me off. What do the actions of others have to do with me? But he’s right. Every black person knows the feeling of watching a person who happens to be black talking too loud or lacking decorum and feeling annoyance or indignation. And why is that? It is because we know the actions of one person will be used to confirm people's negative attitudes about black people. Booker T Washington exemplifies this sentiment in his autobiography “Up From Slavery": “I knew that, in large degree, we were trying an experiment- that of testing whether or not it was possible for Negroes to build up and control the affairs of a large educational institution. I knew that if we failed it would injure the whole race. I knew the presumption was against us...All this made a burden which pressed down on us, sometimes, it seemed, at the rate of a thousand pounds to the square inch” Black people walk the tight balance of navigating our individual identities along with our racial identity. White people deal with that burden but to a lesser extent. For example, rapper Eminem rapped about lining up the victims of the Columbine shooting and shooting them one by one as well as killing his mother.These lyrics will never be used to depict young white men as violent. And why should it? This is Eminem’s lyrics not his peers. Black kids don’t get this luxury. The lyrics of black rappers who’s cheques are signed by white owned corporations are used to undermine black youth. Furthermore, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein and other men who are white have stepped out on their wives. In fact white men have a brutal history of sexual violence against non European women as a result of colonization. Nevertheless the sexuality of white men will never be labelled deviant. Black men don’t have that luxury. Rappers who objectify women are said to reflect black men and black culture by political commentators such as Bill O’Reiley and Sean Hannity. The late Rob Ford was featured in a video that allegedly showed him smoking crack. His personal vices will not affect the chances of other people who are white getting leadership positions. Hell, his brother is currently the premier of Ontario. White Americans are not expected to explain the Opioid crisis ravishing through predominantly white communities. There are minimal headlines about the lack of values or moral corruption among white people that has resulted in the Opioid Crisis. In fact it's not referred to as a white problem but as an American problem. Even the utterance of "white community” sounds odd because it's understood that white people are individuals. I recently watched a video by Scott Rhode. He is a political commentator and recently created a video critiquing "black culture". He attributed the disparities between black and white americans to “black culture” and said the music black people produce, Hip Hop, is partly to blame for these disparities. He came across as condescending and obnoxious. However, his critique of Hip Hop and Black Americans highlights the issues I addressed above. Hip Hop has reached global popularity. It is enjoyed in places as diverse as Palestine and South Korea. According to many reports the number one purchasers of Hip Hop albums are suburban white kids. A lot of these youngsters use African American Vernacular English, wear Hip Hop inspired clothes, have the audacity to use the n word, and consume African American art. Yet they don’t necessarily bare the stigma that comes along with Hip Hop. When I observe the differences in the way problems that affect black people vs non-black communities are discussed I can only be frustrated. Imagine if the Opoid Crisis was simply explained as white people having bad values. Imagine if the reality of strained mental health was discussed in the case of inner-city shooters like it is for white men who shoot up schools. The way black communities and cultures are patholigized and implied as uniquely bad is beyong infuriating. As a result, I think it's healthy to lament the exhaustion and tiredness that sometimes comes along with it. Nevertheless, I think we have to be honest and practical. People don’t check their privilege they pass it onto their children. I don’t believe white people have to recognize their privilege for black people to do well. White Privilege doesn’t improve predominantly black spaces My problem with the conversation around White Privilege is that I don’t know what I should expect it to produce. Besides morality what incentive do members of dominant society have to give up privilege? What are we leveraging in order for the relationship between people of African descent and others to change in North America? Like if a white person says they have privilege then what? How does white people acknowledging the privileges I mentioned above improve the quality of life for black people, the quality of predominantly black schools, families and our neighborhoods? I've been around white people that affirm the concept of White Privilege and frankly they're annoying. They remind me of the prevalence of microaggressions and tell me I have less opportunity then them. This doesn't inspire me. It doesn't inspire my peers also. It can be very disempowering. Makes White People the Standard A negative consequence of focusing on “White Privilege” is that it makes white people our measure of success. It creates tunnel vision and a specific focus on white people. Amy Chua highlights the plight of many white Americans in her latest book “Political Tribes:
“The result of all this is that working class whites have among the lowest upward mobility rates in the nation. Notsurprisingly, when surveyed about the prospects of children today, whites were overwhelmingly more pessimistic than Latinos and Blacks. Just 24 percent of whites believed in the next generation would be better off financially or the same as their parents, compared to 49 percent of Blacks and 62 percent of Latinos. Here is a chart of household income by ancestry I found on Wikipedia: Household Income by ancestry 1. Indian American : $110,026 (2016)[2] 2. Jewish American : $90,221 (2016)[2] 3. Filipino American : $88,745 (2016)[2] 4. Australian American : $81,452 (2014)[3] 5. Israeli American : $79,736 (2014)[3] 6..Russian American : $77,349 (2014)[3] 7.Greek American : $77,342[3] 8..Lebanese American : $74,757[3] 9.Sri Lankan American: $73,856[3] 10. Chinese American: $73,788 (2016) The plight of many white people and success of many non white groups demonstrate that the racial hierachy is not so entreched as to prevent Black people from maximizing our potential. White Privllege is not an insurmountale obstacle. The privlleges I mentioned above don't need to be eradicated in order for "Black" people to be competitive. Hyper-focus on white Racism White Privllege also creates a hyper-focus on white racism. As well it also implies that white people are the only perpetrators of anti black racism despite the fact that Arab, Asian and Hispanic cultures are just as anti black if not more so than White American culture. They're often less remorseful about it. Most Black People are doing well Black people are doing better than a lot of us realize. Especially when you recognize the gains Black women have made in education and entrepreneurship. According to Brookings, “Black Americans are more prone to exaggerate the extent of African Americans trapped in inner city poverty. With many in a 1991 Gallup Poll suggesting that 1 in 3 African Americans live in poverty when the figure is actually 1 in 5. Less than a quarter of the Black American population. A new report by the American Enterprise Institute, “Black Men Making it in America,” uses Census data to show that African-American men are succeeding in the United States:
In Canada:
Nevertheless, the size of the black underclass is still larger than we want it to be. We have real problems that need real solutions. We must improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable among us. Anti- blackness is real. But a constant focus on the actions of white society clouds a lot of our vision to other factors that contribute to disparities- larger proportion of single parent homes and internal attitudes that are counterproductive to healthy communities. I think it's fair to heed suggestions to examine our cultural values and what we tolerate and celebrate in regards to family, education, wealth creation and business. The "success" of non white groups and struggles of the white working class demonstrate that our status is not completely determined by racial hierarchies. That should excite us. We have agency and more importantly we have power to create the communities and nations we want to see. The world is moving forward. We are in the midst of a tech revolution. I fear if we continue to encourage our young people to lead with conversations on White Privilege, Cultural Appropriation, and Microaggressions that it will do nothing to improve the plight of the Black underclass. I think diligence in stamping out cultural vices, addressing internalized anti blackness, building a black economic base, strengthening black families, outlining specific systemic barriers we want addressed, controlling our media depiction, reducing the high level of homicide and crime in low income black communities, reducing Mass Incarceration, paralleling an Afrocentric system along an integrated education system will yield more results. Until the ink drips, Akua B Black fatherhood. This is one of the most talked about issues within and outside African American, Caribbean and African circles.
"Why do black men leave their children Akua''? This is a painful question I've pondered for several months and have had thrown in my face by people who seek to undermine Black people. The answer is important and essential to the thriving of our communities. Initially in my research I came across information like this
A perfect example is NDP leader Andrea Horwath. She has been cohabitating with the father of her child for 25 years without being married. She may be classified as a single mother under census data. It's important to note that Black men who are married to the mother of their children are just as likely or even more likely to be involved in the lives of their children. For example, the National Center for Health Statistics, "found that 70 percent of African-American fathers who live with young children bathed, diapered, dressed or helped their kids use the toilet every day, compared with 60 percent of white fathers and 45 percent of Latino fathers". The study also found that "while all fathers, regardless of race, who live away from their children tend to spend less time with them, the study found that black fathers are no less than other dads. More than half of black fathers talk to their kids about their day several times a week or more.That’s a higher percentage than white or Latino fathers who live apart from their children". Nevertheless, a considerable amount of our families are headed by women because black fathers are more likely to live apart from their children. And men who live apart from their children are less likely to play an active role in their lives. Black women are holding it down willingly and unwillingly. They deserve our continued praise and admiration but they cannot do it alone. If you are serious about supporting black women who are single mothers then we must speak the truth: men are essential to human flourishing. And their diminished presence has consequences for the communities they belong to. Fathers are necessary to the wellbeing of their children and uniquely equip children for success. The facts overwhelmingly demonstrate this. Fathers tend to 1. encourage children to take risks and be independent 2.offer physical protection or the appearance of physical protection and 3.establish discipline. In fact many of the social ills that plague society are underpinned by a lack of active fathers (this is true in all cultures). Barrack Obama echoed this sentiment in his 2008 Father's Day address before a black congergation when he said, "we know the statistics – that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.” My goal is not to patholgize families that are headed by single women. Like writer and lawyer Jamil Jivani said, “recognizing the importance of fathers doesn't dismiss the importance of mothers in the lives of young men. It's about acknowledging that male role models are important and that their absence has consequences.” Moreover, the question remains why are many of our households headed by single parents? Why Fatherlessness? Many on the right argue that black people have cultural values that result in black men leaving their kids and shrinking from their responsibilities as fathers. They also believe single parenthood particularly in the case of African Americans was caused by the expansion of the welfare state during the 1960s. On the other hand, many on the left would argue that single parent households are different from two parent households but just fine. I repudiate the later and think the former doesn’t provide all the details. So what are the causes you ask? Initially I thought it was a remnant of Chattel slavery. Chattel slavery suppressed the institution of marriage for African men and women. Culture is partly composed of common practices and Chattel slavery made it a common practice for men not to be in their children's live. I'm not saying men are not involved in their children's lives because of the past. However, I thought it perhaps created a culture that normalized men not being involved in their children's lives which we see today. For example- Frederick Douglass said this about fatherhood in his biography: I say nothing of father, for he is shrouded in a mystery I have never been able to penetrate. Slavery does away with fathers, as it does away with families. Slavery has no use for either fathers or families, and its laws do not recognize their existence in the social arrangements of the plantation. When they do exist, they are not the outgrowths of slavery, but are antagonistic to that system. The order of civilization is reversed here...- Frederick Douglass ( Abolitionist and formerly enslaved) Booker T Washington who was one of the most influential leaders and intellectuals for Black America had this to say about family: Of my father I know even less than of my mother. I don't even know his name. I have heard reports to the effect that he was a white man who lived on one of the near by plantations. Whoever he was, I never heard of his taking the least interest in me or providing in any way for my rearing. But I do not find especial fault with him. He was simply another unfortunate victim of the institution which the Nation unhappily had engrafted upon itself at the time. This notion was reinforced by the fact that fatherlessness seems to be more pronounced in the direct descendants of enslaved African people - African Americans and Caribbeans. I'm not saying the above is an excuse but it is something to consider. We must recognize how external factors- such as hypersexualization of black men through media, incarceration and increased social economic immobility shapes the role they play in the lives of their children. Nevertheless, these are not the primary causes. According to the books I've read, articles and research: The primary cause of why men don't take active roles in the lives of their children is because of the DECLINE OF MARRIAGE. According to Ralph Dan Brown, “during the past several decades, the restrictions governing marriage and other intimate relationships have been relaxed. Compared to earlier eras, it is easier to exit a marriage and there is less incentive to enter one. People are freer than ever not to marry, yet they also expect more emotional compatibility and fulfillment when they do". "It is true that too many black fathers are missing in action. But it’s often not because they don’t care about their children. Black fathers lose contact with their children for many of the same reasons that white fathers do. Black fathers are less likely than white fathers to have a relationship with their children, in part because black fathers are less likely than their white counterparts to be married to the child’s mother". Living structures such as cohabitation don't provide the structure or accountability that marriage does. Marriage has declined for multiple reasons: 1. There is less of an incentive to get married as a result of changing attitudes 2. The success of the sexual revolution in the 1960s which resulted in the devaluation of marriage 3. End of shotgun marriages 4. Deindustrialization 5. Higher education of women The marriage decline is more pronounced but not limited to African Americans. This is because of : 1. Mass Incarceration 2. Greater disparities in educational attainment between men and women 3. Deindustrialization 4. End of shotgun marriages 5. And because of government policy that saw the expansion of the welfare state and gave black couples less of an incentive to be married Here are some excerpts from what I've been reading:
THIS EXCERPT IS FROM BROOKINGS:
Mass Incarceration
For those of you who chose to have a more public conversation please be careful with your words as this issue is often weaponized to patholgize black people. Some Good News: The good news, especially from the Edin-Nelson research, is that the so-called deadbeat dads want to succeed as fathers. Their goals and values point them in the right direction, but they’re stuck in a formless romantic anarchy. They need help finding the practical bridges to help them get where they want to go Here are some ways I think we can strengthen our families: 1. The Gospel which offers a higher call to manhood and marriage 2. Addressing mass incarceration which takes men out of the employability market + takes them away from their children. There's a need for criminal justice reform 3.Culturally relevant organizations that draw from African understandings of manhood, identity, responsibility etc. 4. Community led initiatives that connect young people with positive male role models regularly 5. Black men leading the charge to define black masculinity apart from the media, white society, black progressives or conservatives. And creating spaces where this can be done. 6. Rejecting radical feminist theories that say two parent households (emphasis on healthy) are not important. Whether you accept it or not the most economically depressed neighbourhoods in North America are neighbourhoods where a large percentage of the men are absent 7. Hold black advocacy groups accountable. What is the Jamaican Canadian Association doing to strengthen black families? What is the NAACP doing to strengthen our families? 8. In your personal life I would encourage you to be in a HEALTHY marriage relationship before you have children. 9. Support black owned businesses to reduce black unemployment so people have the means to provide for their families. 10. Balance- we can talk about anti blackness without diminishing the role fatherlessness plays in perpetuating poverty, lower educational attainment and other disparities 11. If you believe in the power of prayer please pray for black men and our families Some organizations and people who are addressing this: Young Potential Fathers- Ujima House in Toronto Grip Outreach for Youth in Chicago Jamil Jivani- Why Young Men We Rise Together by Peel District School Board which hosted a leadership conference for black men Until the ink drips, Akua B
Today marks 18 years since I have been on this Earth! I've been blessed with great parents, siblings, mentors and life experiences that have shaped my worldview, values and beliefs. Some years have been more painful than others and other years have brought much joy into my life. Furthermore, I don't have everything figured out and am more aware of my need for growth in areas of humility, patience and joy. Nevertheless, I am proud of the woman I am today. I am proud of the choices I have made and the community I come from. I am learning to be less hard on myself. In true "Akua" fashion I wanted to reflect and share 18 things I've learned in 18 years. Feel free to share which ones resonate with you the most:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BONUS 19. Beauty is fleeting . Most people can achieve a level of attractiveness if they try. Cherish character over physical beauty 20. You can reject the victimhood of the political left and racial insensitivity of the right. Leave labels of conservative and liberal behind for compassion, common sense and practicality. No political camp has the monopoly on any of the above. 21. Financial literacy: a mood 22. Take people off the pedestals you built for them. Humans are amazing but they will fail you 23. There’s no need to obsess over convincing people of your opinions. Just build with people who are on the same wave length 24. Continue to understand the reason for your belief in Jesus and the Gospel. Understand the history of the Bible and the influence of Christianity on the world. Be willing to ask difficult questions 25. Culture is beautiful. Nevertheless, cultural values that stunt growth, don’t make sense anymore and are inefficient are worth reforming and innovating 26. Don’t work hard work smart 27. Assuming the best intentions of the heart of people will save you a world of stress, anger and hurt 28.Explore different stories in the African diaspora whether it be in Brazil, Jamaica, Haiti, Tunisia, Morocco and the U.S.A. It helps add perspective and displays global trends that are worth addressing. 29. There are pros and cons of generalization. Know when the appropriate time to do so is 30. Be suspicious of ideologies and worldviews that say your problems are primarily outward. 31. Don’t allow the vileness of others to harden you 32. You are not a victim. You have more autonomy then you think 33. Protect your peace and tap out whenever you feel like it 34. You can do everything right and some people with still hate you, assume bad intentions and disregard you. It’s not right but its okay 35. Wanting to do more with your life or having a vision will automatically separate you from your peers. 36. Mentorship is key! Get yourself a mentor girl! 37. Some people just don’t care and there’s nothing you can do about that 38. Remember that people and communities are more than the disparaging statistics that surround them. 40. God cares about people. Jesus, the cross and the Gospel are evidence of that. 41. Acquire a diverse amount of skills- coding, writing, language etc. 42. People of African descent are dope! 42. You have the immense ability to feel for others. Steward that gift wisely 43. Working for the general good of humanity is great but it’s okay to focus your energy on empowering or uplifting a specific group or demographic 44. Economics > Politics #realonesknow 45. Connect the diaspora! 46. Show yourself some grace you're on your way. Until the ink drips, Akua B |
AuthorMy name is Akua B and I'm a lover of all things Africa, natural hair and poetry... Archives
March 2017
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