The Suspect Is a Black Male
Chains that Bind
Diminishing Values
On any given day, in any given week, in any given month, you can cruise down Martin Luther King, Junior Boulevard in any US city and you will find something illegal happening, you may find violence or you may find drinking, drugs or gambling. The streets may also be lined with trash and graffiti. The value of the streets that are named in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior have been diminished and the value of the honor is questionable.
Similar also is the value of the black man’s life span which also has diminished. Black men and young boys (youth) appear to be an endangered species. The value of their hopes, dreams, aspirations and freedom have been stripped away from them. Their black life appears to be worth less than nothing. Notwithstanding the Trayvon Martin case* his is just a symptom of everything wrong with the non-value placed on a black man’s life. The Martin case is not an isolated case. You can trace the killing of young black men all way back to slavery. An example of this is Emmitt Till** who was a black child whose life had no value to his murderers.
Law Enforcement versus Citizens
None of the fifty states are immune in their treatment of the black male. Target practice (with the black man being the target) is a common occurrence by the police force and any other malcontent and that also includes black on black crime. To serve and protect is the motto of many police departments, however, according to Adam Hudson, author of AfterNet Newsletter, police officers, security guards, or self-appointed vigilantes extra judicially killed at least 313 African-Americans in 2012. This means a black person was killed by a security officer every 28 hours. Law enforcement is at war with its citizens according to a report, entitled "Operation Ghetto Storm", a play performed by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, a grassroots activist organization.
However, whether it is law enforcement, security guards or vigilantes they do not have to use deadly force to kill if they consider the black male aggressive. Once the black male's heartbeat is gone, the dreams are gone…and a black mother has lost a son.
This lack of the black man’s worth can also be traced so far back it continues to be something difficult to overcome. The prisons are filled with black men. While African-Americans are a small portion of the nation's population they make up to 40% of the prison population according to AfterNet. Black men themselves, in order to try to economically survive in the United States, have also placed a very low premium on their own worth. They have chosen to participant in gang life, drugs, theft, murder and robbery as ways and means to get “rich” and this has led them straight into the prison plantation.
Some Statistics - U.S. Department of Justice (2009)
Check this out!
- A black male born in 1991 has a 29% chance of spending time in prison at some point in his life.
- Nearly one in three black males aged 20–29 are under some form of criminal justice supervision whether imprisoned, jailed, on parole or probation.
- One out of nine African American men will be incarcerated between the ages of 20 and 34.
- Black males ages 30 to 34 have the highest incarceration rate of any race/ethnicity.
Blacks Creating an Economic Wealth for Majority
The plantation prison blacks, who have low expectations for themselves, have created an economic boom for the majority. They have created career jobs and a livelihood for the majority. Prisons are little mini cities and every occupation is generally represented in a prison settings. If you want job security and can work in this type of environment, prison is the best place to get it.
There are jobs for lawyers, judges, police, wardens, swat teams, social workers, nurses, teacher, actors, counselors, therapists, doctors who are putting their own children through college while the children of the incarcerated inmate struggles with survival. There are also some blacks, including a few (not many) black wardens, who get a few perks working in these institutions - taking care of the inmates.
It appears that in just about every walk of life, especially prison life, the great-great grandsons and daughters of former slave masters are thriving while the sons and daughters of former black slaves fall further and further down the economic ladder.
Leadership Void In the Black Community?
The progressive election of a black president who sits in the oval office has not created any relief on the black condition. When white presidents are elected they help: 1) all their friends and relatives, 2) all the children of their friends and relatives 3) the rich people who backed their candidacy and 4) the masses of their own race.
The masses of black people do not advance but continue to create successful livelihoods for everyone…except themselves. The examples are so prevalent that it is hard to ignore. Is it a weakness in the genes, limited vision, stupidity, ignorance, or a lack of pride, lack of common sense or is it years of discrimination?
Balancing the Scales of Equality
What are the reasons black people remain the poorest citizens?
Everything cannot be blamed on discrimination. The drugs, prison, gang life, unemployment, family life or lack thereof has to be added to the equation that haunts the race. The worst effects of incarceration can be found in the children of those who are in jail. The children develop feelings of anger and abandonment. These feelings can be directed to other children, law enforcement or to the other parent. Another effect of incarceration is that, if the prison term is long enough, the child will grow to accept that the missing parent is no longer in his life or may even forget about the incarcerated parent, according to the ehow.com, article, The Effects of Incarceration.
How can the scale be balanced to reap the same equal economic success for black Americans that the white majority enjoys? What is the answer?
