Jarvis DeBerry has written a very poignant and "on the mark" article in NOLA.com titled "Killings A Sign of Spiritual Illness." In the article DeBerry quotes the late Ralph Wiley who wrote the following in his 1991 essay "Who Black People Don't Like.""Murder is the acid test of dislike. Black people pass with flying colors. Black people will kill each other rather quickly, and over the most simple things. The things are so inconsequential to a life that you know black people aren't really killing themselves over these things. They're killing themselves because they don't like each other."
DeBerry's article specifically targets the increased murder rate among black male teenagers, and the general lack of respect for the life of a black male teenager. We've known for years, that the life of a black male is substantially devalued in our community. While we tend to put pressure on police forces around the country to control crime, the real issue is that black males are killing themselves, and ultimately that's not a decision that the police can control. Individual responsibility would solve a lot of problems of the teenage black male.
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1 comment:
As a person who has worked with black and other gangs, this article rings so true. I'm going to put to this article and led others know that your blog led me to it. Thanks.
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