Ferguson & Black on Black Crime

Ferguson, MO and Sanford FL are a narrative that we’re used to seeing, covering up evidence, and taking too long to state what actually happened. Two unarmed young black men killed by someone with a gun is two of many stories like the one chronicled in Fruitvale Station, and the recent chokehold death right out of Do The Right Thing—gives black men reason to be mad at a system that categorizes us as dangerous, mad, craven and deserving of a bullet. Next to that, I also see mentally ill people facing similar tragedy which tells us more about the police than their victims. When innocent people are killed by police it taints the narrative we saw as little kids: the cops are the good guys who get the bad guys. When we grow up however, we realize that the cops more often ARE the bad guys—they’re just immune to the law they are supposed to serve and protect

So, after all the protests and the clashes with police are happening in Ferguson and solidarity actions in many cities take place, there is a debate in social media raging. It regards the evidence released and the reactions to it no matter where you fall politically. Righties who called Clive Bundy, a tax cheat who wanted to graze his cows on federal land without paying up are called patriots while calling Michael Brown who had his hands up while he was shot a troubled youth who somehow deserved it because he smoked marijuana. The protestors are no good people who want free stuff like healthcare and Section 8, and their voting registration drive is “disgusting People go back and forth for their side of the narrative but one particular refrain happens in these cases and it never fails.   

When this question of outrage regarding intraracial violence (violence within the race) is posed, it is seemingly valid. Where are the community leaders calling out there calling for an end to violence in the city streets of Buffalo? Sergio Rodriguez candidate for Mayor last year was striking a chord with people when he said that Main Street isn’t the only street in our city that needs to be safe. Stop the Violence has campaigns constantly monitoring the library and keeping it safe down there, passing out Violence Ends with Me Posters and allying with organizations that mentor youth. Other organizations put on events where the community can get together and listen to music, relax and be calm in a place where we are plagued with so much violence. On top of that there are organizations like PUSH Buffalo (People United for Sustainable Housing) Center for Economic Justice, Say YES to Education--Buffalo, Alliance for Quality Education, Citizen Action, Stonewall Democrats, FATHERS, Teens in Progress--all of these organizations along with many others too numerous to name are fighting to bring justice…and an end to violence

But back to the point: The real reason people ask about black on black crime in the light of Ferguson is to dodge the systemic racism that is pervasive in our society and by extension the police force. It all works together to put black people in a place of inferiority for them to stay, which is why other than Reagan my most hated President is Rutherford B Hayes, who ended Reconstruction in 1877 (similar to the Bush v. Gore situation in a contested election but was resolved by Congress instead of the Supreme Court) and gave the Jim Crow era the go ahead. But let’s go beyond this question into the person who’s asking: Do they care about the black community? Let’s take a look at the Chris Lane murder, when FOX “NEWS” covered the story they talked about fatherlessness in the black community but paint the black community as a mooching community, wants free stuff, a Bushphone—Obamaphone is a misnomer, and sucks up food stamps and free government cheese…before they took it away. When FOX “NEWS” asked the President why he hadn’t done anything about fatherlessness in the black community he said “We’ve held events about the importance of Fathers but you never came to it, it’s not sexy, it doesn’t grab peoples’ attention” but complaining about fatherlessness will. These organizations that try to stop the problem BEFORE it becomes a problem will never reach headlines because no one picks up the newspaper to see the good news happening in a city.

These organizations are filling a place that poser of this black on black crime question has no idea of, and honestly don’t care about because they don’t really want an answer, they want a zap. They want to stun you with an unrelated question, a red herring, a straw man…take you off the trail of racism in America. When an unarmed black kid is shot by a police officer, when a person with special needs is killed after being placed on his belly for such a long time and dying of asphyxiation what matters most is that someone who was supposed to protect the public is violating that oath in an egregious fashion.

Thank you for letting me talk to you