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| Anger in Ferguson is Real |
But within the last few weeks, unless you've been living under a rock, you would know that at least a few unarmed Black men have been killed by police. The killings have sparked protests, anger, countless social media posts, a response from President Obama, riots and an ugly militarized response from a police department in question.
In short police violence has indeed short circuited the vision of a post racial America. However, whenever questions of police brutality and militarization come up conservatives on news programs like Fox News or even emotionally charged African Americans raise the honest question as to why "Blacks aren't as upset about Black on Black crime?"
Come on hold up peeps. Aren't we conflating two different issues that need two different responses?
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| Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton at Michael Brown Funeral |
This is because before social media incidents of police brutality could be isolated and dismissed locally unless a media spokesperson like an Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson could create controversy on an issue giving it national attention. Today countless people with cell phones and the ability to upload videos in real time to the Internet has tied isolated incidents of police brutality to all of us.
The US purports itself to be a symbol of democracy and equality around the world. So media attention in the US and World about the rising threat of militarized police forces brutalizing its black citizens in particular and the public in general is embarrassing at least to leaders of our country.
Also people pay more attention to the response of elected officials on this controversial issue. The elected officials then have to reign in the police departments and their unions or risk adverse responses to their political careers or the viability of their parties. We see this with the response of President Obama sending Attorney General Eric Holder to Ferguson or NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio contentious relationship with police union heads. In short the Civil Rights Movement proved political institutions and parties respond to protests, boycotts, and civil unrest.
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| Teenager Michael Brown was unarmed and shot by Police |
Most crime is is perpetrated by people who live near and know each other. But the way people have successfully handled crime in our community is with community patrols, hiring more police who live in the community, better parenting, youth programs, providing home owner loans, developing more things economically.
For example in Brooklyn, Queens, and NYC, Blacks invested and built up communities and now every body in the world wants to live in Harlem, Downtown Brooklyn, Clinton Hill, Bed Stuy, and even Bushwick Brooklyn now. We helped upscale the communities and helped lower crime in New York City, and now people are leaving the suburbs to live in Black communities. This just illustrates...
...Different responses are needed for different problems. But what we shouldn't do is every time a black person gets shot by police is deflect responsibility and make it less important by saying "oh we are our own worst enemy and Black on Black crime is more of an issue."
Cutting down on crime which is closely linked to raising the quality of life in neighborhoods requires work of an ongoing programmatic nature including: voting and holding elected officials accountable; investing in business and economic development; starting popular and attractive sports, self defense, music, and youth programs; and community watch programs, etc. This is something people do in our communities and of these proactive initiatives need to be more supported in our neighborhoods.
Both are challenging issues that we need to address them in different ways. Blacks have worked to reduce crime without hoopla in a number of communities I've worked in. In St. Albans, Queens a 92% black community (once considered a epicenter of the crack epidemic) the Churches, youth groups, civic organizations worked together to buy stores being used by drug gangs, patrol the community, and develop a real estate infrastructure which helped the poor and elderly get housing.
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| An illegal choke hold applied to Eric Garner |
Things like this don't make the news. But just because it doesn't make the news doesn't mean we don't work hard to make communities safer places. I have a Facebook friend who told me about 30 days ago they started a group in her neighborhood in Chicago to make their community more safe and peaceful. Since they started the group there hasn't been any recent shootings according to her. The media doesn't cover this because they primarily cover conflict and confrontation to sell ads. Bad news sells better than good news.
However, there are groups in most Black communities that work to get young people off the streets and doing positive things. In my neighborhood we have two dance and music training studios for young people and a self defense school which only charges $30 a month to train 2 times a week for young people. All within a small radius. These are all things that contribute to cutting down on crime.
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| John Crawford was shot by police in a department store |
So we have examples of Blacks reinvesting in their communities to raise living standards which of course includes cutting down on crime. But we shouldn't let the conservatives or status quo elites throw a distraction our way when trying to cut down on police brutality and militarization by telling us we should focus more on crime.
We have to be able to deal with both issues effectively and neither should be used as a political football to negate the other important issue in some competing ideological wars. We should recognize the art of distraction when we see it.
Checkout this interesting video below with Rev. Jesse Jackson and Dr. Ben Carson
About the Publisher of Kamau's Qu!ps
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