The nature of civil disobedience requires reason and common sense. Martin Luther King Jr. incorporated this philosophy within the context of his non-violent approach to social change. Today, there seems to be a sea change in how African American men approach problem solving and this method usually includes violence first and reason second.
There have been an abudance of troubling stories over the past decade regarding violent behavior of black men and this occurrences is seemingly on the rise. on Wednesday, June 2, a fired porn actor went crazy at a production studio in California after he lost his job, killing one person and severely wounding two others with a sword. Stephen Hill, a 30-year-old African American porn star, is still on the loose and his flight has resulted in a massive manhunt for his capture. The same day in Virginia, a man allegedly killed a kitten after it accidently pulled a video game he was playing with, from the electrical outlet. The Staunton Police Department have charged Bruce Walston, 21, with animal cruelty after he killed the kitten by throwing it against a wall in their apartment.
In Seattle, 16-year-old Shane McClellan was found after being beaten on the morning of May 25. McCleallan suffered a broken nose and some internal injuries. The attackers, two black men ages 21 and 23, were released after investigators obtained their contact information and collected DNA samples. According to reports, the two suspects stated during the vicious beating, “the white man has kept us down,” “how do you like it, white boy,” and “this is for enslaving our people.” They alternated beating the 16-year-old, even taking the time for cigarette breaks.
Also recently in Brooklyn, N.Y., eight alleged members of the Bloods gang have been accused of sex trafficking. The members recruited girls from junior high schools based on a report from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. Girls as young as 15 were often beaten and deprived of food if they didn’t make $500 a day selling their bodies.The accused include Abking Wilcox, James Kortu, Lathaniel McCoy, Kareem Clark and four others.
The question is what has changed since the time of Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers that makes us, as African American males, display an enhanced affinity to use violence? Is it the culture of hip-hop that applauds violence as being a necessary part of being a black male or is it something else? Violent behavior among African American men is is taking a great toll on our community and males in particular. African American men maintain a homicide rate nearly ten times the rate of white males which is also the leading cause of death for African American youth 12 to 24.
Something has to change, if we are to make a meaningful contribution to our families and neighborhoods. The increased focus on being “goons,” “thugs” and “gangsters” is idiotic and borders on severe psychopathy, much of which is promoted by youth and the media. The truth is that these erroneous identities and images are presented by rappers and drug criminals and the code of the streets that says snitching is bad.
Although there is no simple solution to the prevention and reduction of violent behavior as practiced by African American men, in reality if we fail to address and acknowledge this problem as opposed to sweeping it under the rug, there will be major social and public health outcomes that will promulgate dysfunctional and maladaptative behaviors in African American men as well as our communities.
torrance stephens, ph.d.
For more with Dr. Stephens, visit twitter.com/rawdawgbuffalo and rawdawgb.blogspot.com.
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