Destroying the Myth of Black on Black Crime

The title of this blog may spark a double take considering what we've all been pre-conditioned to believe. ("Black on Black" crime being a huge issue.) Before you dismiss this as a naive assessment, please allow me to enlighten us all on a few compelling facts that may help in redefining some of our collective perceptions. Honestly this has been floating around in my head for quite a while. The internet is a powerful medium for information. I read college friends blog and was immediately challenged by the horrific story of yet another black youth slain in the streets due to America's fascination with the "gangsta/gangster" lifestyle.

We all are quite familiar with the news media's portrayl of "black on black crime" as the validation for the belief of excessive criminality by blacks. The subconcious and overt effort of our collective news media describes violent crimes commited against whites by their peers as simply "murder" (This a is more than a subtle clue to my theory) Homocidal criminal data has been analyzed by many intelligent people but they have never coined a phrase "White on White crime". Don't believe me? Consider this. When serial killer Ted Bundy's murders were reported; did any well known white journalist write an essay about stopping "white on white" crime? Did any famous white public figure lament the loss of yet another white youth to senseless violence.(With the exception of school shootings or workplace violence scenarios, these stories were always packaged as "a rare exception in surburban America")

Still not enough evidence? Ok consider the criminal statistics compiled by the Bureau of Justice. Eighty-Six percent of whites that were murdered from the years of 1976 to 2005 were murdered by other whites. Secondly ninety-four percent of the black people murdered in the same years were murdered by other blacks. Let's not confuse these quantitative numbers as a beauty contest of who's the worst criminals. That ideaology plays into the hands of racial supremacy. The main idea of sharing this information is to highlight that people are most likely to murder those that look like them.

Racial segregation coupled with cultural norms and customs created the current racial dichotomy amongst people groups in America. Throughout American history one can find the evidence of people "sticking to their own kind"as a means of survival. Black people were forced to adhere to that paradigm naturally due to our situation of "involuntary servitude". However that goes for the early 18th and 19th century Irish immigrants, Italians, Germans and West Indian black people. The criminal statistics from 1976 to 2005 is proof positive that social issues are still largely falsified and misrepresented by the mainstream media solely for the purpose of segregating and misdirecting the perception of their viewers.

I do appreciate the activist, authors and concerned citizens in our communities at large that believe in attacking this phenomna head on. Their work should be commended but we must redefine criminality in its entirety. When the mainstream media continues to distort issues such as violent crime it continues to stir up fear which creates a sense of superiority in whites and a sense of inferiorty in minorities. How can fear in American culture solve the problem of criminality as a whole if the media continues to segregate the problem? Will this bring about effective change in our communities at large?

Of course not!! Entertainment mediums (this spans all generes) continues to glorify violence and illegal activity as a respectable means of survival at a much faster rate than any grassroots coaltion can realistically deal with. That's alot to ask of our communities considering a problem that has morphed from a thimble to King Kong!

The American community must work together to collectively to reduce violence of any kind in every community. The fundamental question is whether or not American law enforcement is willing to put aside their predjudice long enough to stop a universal problem. Let's not buy into this myth any longer. A myth is simply a story based on embellished details that lack credible evidence that supports the truth.

We must start to demand more of the truth from our leaders in government, entertainment, religion and community organizations. If we continue to accept rhetorical terminology as the real problem then we will continue down the slippery slope of losing our children to senseless violence. It is up to us as consumers, parents, and gatekeepers. If we aren't combating the problem then we are just as responsible for the murder we here reported by our local and national news medium.

Sadly Law enforcement, Government officals and opportunistic business people have yet to take responsibility for their roles in helping to create criminal enterprises. When will our generation take a page from the previous generations that stood up? When will we challenge the status quo? Only time will tell. IF we don't then we experience self destruction as whole and not just as a "black community".