Black on Black Crime Exists

Black People Need to Start Pointing Fingers at Ourselves

From The Root: A Shameful Act: Woman Dragged Off DC Metro Bus; Her Cries For Help Went Ignored, She Says. So far, two suspects were arrested in connection to the assault. By Kalyn Womack

From the article — “ Just weeks ago, reports say Thurston was riding the W4 Metrobus and had given her seat to a mother with children, per WTOP. A group of juveniles and adults, mostly boys, also aboard the bus had been cursing around the kids and Thurston spoke up asking them to stop. Instead of rolling their eyes or ignoring her, the group became unruly, throwing Thurston to the floor, hitting and kicking her face and body.”

I’m tired of Black people saying that Black-on-Black crime doesn’t exist. That it is a racist trope created by White people. When what happened in DC clearly illustrates that Black-on-Black crime DOES exist!

A Black woman asking Black teens to stop swearing and she’s attacked and dragged off a public bus. Per the article, no one helped her. She screamed for help and neither the passenger nor the bus driver came to her aid. The attackers had their way with the woman beating her like an animal.

In my city, we’ve had a rash of shootings since the start of November. The month began unusually warm with temperatures reaching nearly 80 degrees on some days. Summer in November was great but it also brought problems to the urban sections of the city. Neighborhoods became engulfed in a hail of bullets with many people, mostly Black people, being shot and/or killed by other Black people.

I follow many social justice advocates on Instagram and TikTok. I believe in much of what they’re saying in terms of racial injustice in this country. The United States is going backward in terms of racial progress. Many politicians, mainly Republicans, want to do away with the gains made by people of color and women. Instead of it being 2022, the Republicans want to take us back to 1952.

In Black communities across the country, gun violence is almost as common as a cold. Thousands of Black lives are injured or ended every year and the perpetrators are often other Black people. The families of the victims don’t want to hear that Black-on-Black crime doesn’t exist. They’re visiting their wounded family members in hospitals or at cemeteries. As bad as police brutality has been in America, Black brutality is not getting the attention necessary from our people.

Sure, community leaders will speak to reporters and have meetings with Mayors and other politicians. But not much has been done in Black communities to stem the tide of violence. Our people’s mental health is in critical condition. And Black people are the only ones who can heal our minds and bodies.

Black people need to stop depending on local, state, and federal officials to end violence in urban communities. To be honest, I’m sure they want our neighborhoods to burn and Black bodies to be smoldering on sidewalks. They’ve been gentrifying urban communities in my city for the past twenty years. But there is still a stronghold of Black and Brown folks in those communities. Some of those families have lived in the neighborhoods for generations.

As a Black woman, mother, and community member, I despise the violence that happens in my neighborhood. Over the years, I have read countless headlines of Black men, women, and children dying by gun violence. A young girl was shot while sitting atop a mailbox. A teen boy was shot on his way home from school. Another boy was killed while raking leaves in his family’s front yard. A boy who attends the school where I teach was shot in an alleyway over the summer. Too many young lives have ended way too soon for too many years. Something different must be done to end the bloodshed in Black communities.

There are no easy solutions. But I think community leaders, pastors, and local politicians, need to come together and draft some legislation to present to the Mayor. In the meantime, Black families need to do more in their homes to support their communities. For instance, access mental health services, get free job training, sign their children up for afterschool programs, and provide teens with more after-school work opportunities. In addition, I feel the Mayor should institute a curfew for anyone under the age of 25. Why 25? Well, you can’t rent a car unless you’re 25, so a curfew for under 25-year-olds makes sense.

Violence in urban communities happens primarily with Black youth under the age of 25. Black teens are more likely to be involved in gang activities. Black teens struggle more in school and have higher suspension rates. Oftentimes, Black teens are more likely to have conflicts with their parents and other authority figures. Black teens need mental health and academic support. As an educator, I know Black teens can achieve many things if there are supports in place.

But first, as a people, we need to admit that Black-on-Black crime does exist. We need to stop pointing fingers at white people. Yes, racism still exists and plays a role in what’s happening in urban communities. However, white people aren't going into our neighborhoods and shooting us. We are doing that to ourselves. We are destroying our future as a people. It must stop. Now.