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Publisher's Notes
Black on Black Violence and the Crimes
of Young Black Males in Our City
"Unnatural" is in the eyes of the beholder
Fratricide, mayhem, and self- annihilation run rampant in New Orleans. And while some call these acts of violence unnatural, we ask this: What else should one expect given the lack of opportunities available to our young Black men? Would not young men of any race strike out and react exactly the same way under the very same circumstances?
I can recall giving a speech in 1986 at an education forum where I remarked, “You can keep young Black men uneducated and poor but they will not remain non-violent.” A quarter century later, the chickens have come home to roost.
Given the current meltdown and systems failure of our inner cities, the resulting actions we see occurring all around us are not unnatural. In fact, they are very predictable. The first law of nature is self-preservation; and with no hope or any prospects for achievement; with lives filled with frustration and despair; with poverty staring them straight in the face; with no exit in sight, our young men have resorted to the primal law of nature—“kill or be killed.”
With the doors of big business and corporate America virtually closed to African-American males and public sector opportunities off-limits to them, the cauldron continues to boil. Young Black men view the streets as their domain, their corporate offices. They are the CEO’s of the blacktop and they guard their territories with the same zeal as the captains of industry and Wall Street giants guard theirs.
A society that would purposely and consciously keep opportunities out of the reach of strong, intelligent Black men in our community, young men who want to work, to be productive, to be able to support their families with the dignity that gainful employment brings…that is unnatural.
A community where 50 percent of the young African American men are kept locked in failing schools, not graduating from high school with all that that portends …that is unnatural.
A state and city which incarcerates their young men at a higher rate than any other, a city where the arrogant boldly seized the reins of the public school system and its governance along with the purse strings that accompanied it, with no outcry from the powers that be, where privateers are invited to come into a system and exploit the economics of public education under the banner of "reform" and at the expense of certain children and 8,500 mostly African-American, mostly middle-class employees who were employed by the system prior to Katrina—now that is really unnatural
The only system that America seems to have perfected for dealing with African-American males is the prison system. What is painfully obvious is that too many Americans think the only appropriate place for young Black men is behind bars where they are totally disenfranchised and powerless, neutralized and neutered. What some have called the new Jim Crow is in actuality modern day slavery.
Clearly there is an element in our society that needs to be restricted by incarceration before they can inflict more harm on themselves and others. However, we must understand that lock-down and lock-out are not solutions, only temporary respites from the unending cycle that generates more discord and upheaval, a cycle that is now seeping out and infecting more communities. New Orleans East today, Lakeview tomorrow.
Woefully—having let this problem fester for so long there are no short term answers. However, we offer a few solutions.
If instead of spending trillions of dollars fighting wars in the name of transporting democracy across the globe, we began to re-invest in our own inner cities and our own human capital, in time we could make a difference. If we would establish schools which focus exclusively on the performance and learning outcomes of Black males with meaningful input from stakeholders, that would make a difference. If we were to declare priority the rebuilding and repair of our infrastructure while retaining the services of local African-American contractors and laborers, that would make a difference. If we would re-open Sidney Collier Vocational School, fund it to the level required and put in place a massive jobs training program for young African-American males to prepare them for the well-paying jobs that are in the pipeline in this community, that would make a difference.
If we were to support economic empowerment through SBA loans and grants to local minority entrepreneurs to spur business development and job creation that would make a difference. If we were to insist that the jobs sent overseas be brought back to these shores for the benefit of our citizens, that would make a difference.
If we can bail out Wall Street, we can certainly bail out LaSalle, Josephine and Liberty Streets; Morrison and Downman Roads; and St. Bernard, St. Claude, and South Claiborne Avenues. That would definitely make a difference.
There are two reasons for America to wake up. First of all, it is the right thing to do. Secondly it is in our own enlightened self-interests, for the next revolution will not be in Egypt, Libya or Syria but on the back streets and side streets of New Orleans where the forgotten and forsaken reside.
The clock is ticking.
