Who can we blame for black-on-black murder? Is it the white the manufacturer of the same guns that are used to kill white kids and adults in these public mass killings in malls and schools? Are there black gun manufacturers?
Blame is one thing, but the facts stand alone. More than 93 percent of the murders of blacks are by black people, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports. The truth is 49 percent of all murders in the United States are black on black.
In cities like Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, and St Louis, a dog has a better chance of dying of old age than a black man. It is not getting better as more blacks become educated and make more money. It seems that some things just don’t change.
Have the talking heads given the subject matter the type of depth of attention it deserves? Does the murder have to be a Trayvon Martin white-on-black murder for a black national radio talk show host to call on everybody to protest?
I recently eulogized a young man whom I had known for 22 years of his short 27 years of life. He was ambushed at 4:30 a.m. Before he was killed, I asked him when he would return to the church and leave the drug life behind? He asked me, “What else would I do? This is all I know.”
He thought he was doing the only thing he could do and the only thing there was for him to do.
His father was on drugs and not in his life. His mother, who is in prison, was on drugs and needed his support to survive. His grandmother was all the things a grandmother shouldn’t be and then some.
Who’s to blame for this young man not knowing there is a better way? Should the black community be held responsible?
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