Black on Black - Why Inner-City Murder Rates Are Soaring
Pacific News Service, Earl Ofari Hutchinson Posted: Aug 13, 2002
A rising tide of Black-on-Black violence hasn't received the media attention of recent (white) child murder-abductions. But across the country, the murder rate is rising. Most killers and victims are Black. PNS contributor Earl Ofari Hutchinson asks why.
The same week that public attention was riveted on the shocking murder-abduction of Samantha Runnion, the mother of 7-year-old Jaunnicia Milton was gunned down in Oakland, Calif. Her shooting was only the latest in a string of murders in the city, and it got only passing notice.
At the present rate, the murder toll will soar in Oakland to more than 100 by year's end -- and Oakland is no aberration. Murders have sharply risen in every major city across the country, according to the latest report from the Justice Department. The killer of Wilson's mother, and indeed most of the other victims and their killers in major cities are likely to be young, Black and male. The murder rate among Blacks is seven times greater than among whites.
More police, prosecutors, three strikes and mandatory sentencing laws, the death penalty, and putting nearly 1 million Blacks behind bars have done little to curb the Black-on-Black carnage. And they won't.
Despite the pet theories of liberals and conservatives, Blacks aren't killing each other because they are violent or crime-prone by nature, solely because they are poor and oppressed. Or even because they are acting out the obscene and lewd violence they see and hear on TV, films and gangster rap lyrics.
The violence results from a combustible blend of cultural and racial baggage many Blacks carry.
In the past, crimes committed by Blacks against other Blacks were often ignored or lightly punished. Many studies have confirmed that the punishment Blacks receive when the victim is white is far more severe than if the victim is Black. The implicit message is that Black lives are expendable.
This perceived devaluation of Black lives by racism has encouraged disrespect for the law, and has forced many Blacks to internalize anger and displace aggression onto others.
Often these victims are women. When women were groped, fondled and assaulted in New York's Central Park by mostly young Black and Puerto Rican males a few years ago, most observers chalked it up to male misbehavior toward women. But this is far too simple. Too many young Black males have become especially adept at acting out their frustrations at white society's denial of their "manhood" by adopting an exaggerated "tough guy" role. They swagger, boast, curse, fight and commit violent, self-destructive acts. When Black women refuse to be sexually submissive or are perceived as trying to control them, they become frequent targets of violence. Black females aged 20 to 24 were more likely to be assaulted by Black males than white females of the same age by white males, according to Justice Dept. data.
When many Black males indulge their murderous impulses on women and other Black males, they are often taking out their pent-up frustrations on those whom they perceive as helpless and hapless. This is a twisted and warped response to racism and deprivation, blocked opportunities, powerlessness and alienation.
The other powerful ingredient in the deadly mix of Black-on-Black violence is the gang and drug plague. The spread of the drug trade during the 1980s made Black gangs bigger and more dangerous. Drug trafficking provided illicit profits and made gun play more widespread. Gang members used their arsenals to fend off attacks, protect their profits from hostile predators and settle scores with rivals. Much of the recent escalation in the murder rates can be directly traced to busted drug deals, competition over markets and disputes over turf. Often innocent victims are caught in their shootouts, fortifying the conviction of suburban whites that Black communities are depraved war zones.
An economic slowdown, deteriorating public education and the sharp upswing in the number of young persons in the most crime-prone aged group -- 14 to 20 -- may trigger a new wave of killings. Unfortunately, the Justice Department's report contained no suggestions on how to confront this potential rising danger. President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft have been stone silent on the high Black murder rates and have not proposed any new policy initiatives to deal with the problem.
It will take a coordinated effort by educators, health professionals, drug counselors, violence prevention specialists, gang intervention activists, victims of violence and local community activists and leaders to stem the violence. They must devise and coordinate short- and long-term strategies and programs to provide jobs, training, better education, and boost the self-esteem of at-risk young Blacks. Public officials must provide the political muscle and resources to implement these programs.
If young whites were killing other whites in the same appalling numbers as Blacks, the public and policy makers would declare a national crisis and rush to address it. The tragedy in Black communities demands the same response.
Hutchinson (EHutchi344@aol.com) is a columnist and the author of "The Crisis in Black and Black" (Middle Passage Press).
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