B6 JULY 15-21, 2020
FORUM
The enemy within
Black Lives Matter: We are the Black community
(TriceEdneyWire.com)—At least six Black children were killed during the Fourth of You Lie weekend. They weren’t doing anything wrong, just attending a community picnic, or going to visit a grandmother, or riding in a car with her mom. One of the children, Secoriea Turner, 8, was an Atlantan, and the day after the killing, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, emotionally addressed the killers, “You shot and killed a baby,” she said. “This random wild, wild West, shoot ‘em up because you can, it has got to stop. It has to stop.” She went on to say, “Enough is enough. You can’t blame this on a police officer. You can’t say this is about criminal justice reform. This is about some people carrying weapons who shot up a car with an 8-year-old baby in the car. For what?” In Washington, D.C., 11-year-old Devon McNeal, ironically attending an antiviolence cookout organized by his mother, was shot in the head by a bullet. An 18year old has been arrested, and there are two other suspects. In Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and New York, our children are being murdered. We can get thousands to the streets for a Black Lives Matter protest. How many can we get out for Natalia, 7, killed in Chicago, or Jace Young, 6, the San Franciscan who was killed attending a birthday party? In 2019, 692 children (0-11) were killed or injured, up from 2014, when 603 were killed or wounded. The Gus Violence Archive, (gunviolencearchive.org), has been counting gun deaths since 2013, says there were 733 child deaths or injuries in 2017, the peak year since they began collecting the data. The murdered children are never the intended victims. Instead, somebody with more firepower
Legend has it, during and control to private enJ. Pharoah Doss the French Revolution, tities, and BLM demandMaximilien Robespierre ed increased investments overthrew the monarchy in traditional community and beheaded the king for schools. the benefit of “the people.” But if the majority of After the execution, the parents in the Black actual people agreed to community are in favor of institute a new governcharter schools, who does ment administered by the BLM represent? people, but Robespierre disagreed and Now, in 2020, after the police killing announced, “I am the people.” Then of another unarmed Black man, BLM Robespierre beheaded every person has issued a demand that has little who opposed “the people’s” will. support in the Black community. BLM That’s a cautionary tale. Some wants police departments defundbelieve it captures the warning in ed across the nation and the funds the phrase: The road to hell is paved transferred to the Black community. with good intentions. Others believe But this demand is no different than it demonstrates how power corrupts. I the Black parents’ demand for charbelieve it warns the people that those ter schools. Since public schools were speaking on their behalf don’t necesfailing Black children the majority of sarily share their interest. Black parents wanted public schools In 2016 the NAACP, the nation’s defunded and the funds transferred oldest civil rights organization, called to entities that better served their for a temporary ban on charter school community. Now that BLM is conexpansion. The NAACP believed no vinced policing in America cannot be public money should be diverted to reformed, they want police departcharter schools at the expense of pubments defunded and funds transferred lic schools. Hundreds of Black parents to entities that would better serve the went to the NAACP board meeting Black community. in Cincinnati to protest against the That sounds inconsistent with BLM’s NAACP’s position on charter schools. previous opposition to shifting public The protests weren’t surprising; pubfunds, but it is consistent with them lic opinion polls revealed the majority using the plight of the “Black comof Black parents supported charter munity” for their own purposes. The schools. Obviously, the NAACP spoke question that needs to be answered only for its membership and not on is: What is the Black community? At behalf of the Black community. One the turn of the century the Equity protester asked, “Where was the Literary Institute defined the Black NAACP when so many public schools community as Black America, memwas failing our children?” bers of Black America are citizens of A few weeks after the NAACP’s the United States, also citizens of the confrontation with the Black parents, states, counties, cities, and municipalBlack Lives Matter released its first ities in which they reside. policy agenda. BLM supported the But that definition doesn’t mean NAACP’s position on charter schools too much, therefore, like Robespiby demanding a moratorium. BLM erre, BLM has announced: We are the stated charter schools represented Black community. an inappropriate shift of public funds
Julianne Malveaux
Commentary than sense, shoots into a crowd gathering, not caring who they hit. And they’ve been killing our children. I could write dissertations about why angry and unemployed young men are running around with guns, settling scores, and securing reputations with no regard for others. But I’m sick of the sociological explanations and the excuses. I’m with Mayor Bottoms. Enough is enough. How do we stop it, though? Devon McNeal’s mother, Crystal, is an antiviolence activist. She organized her gathering to promote the end of violence. But she could not protect her baby boy since all the antiviolence talk in the world can’t protect a child from a fool who is determined to use their weapon to rob, kill, or intimidate. How do we dismantle the gun culture that dominates so many of our inner cities? Will it take new laws? Harsher penalties for illegal gun use? As Mayor Bottoms said, this is not about the police. Conservatives are right to say we may lose fewer Black lives to police violence to street gun violence. It doesn’t matter, because of every George Floyd, Tamir Rice, and Briana Taylor matters. To lose lives because of police indifference, racism, and evil must be resisted, and the Black Lives Matter Movement does that effectively. Black Lives Matter street signs in Washington, D.C., and New York speak to that. Even as we resist police brutality, structural racism, and other inequities, we must fight the enemy within, the callous young men who engage in gunplay on public streets when anybody could be walking by. How to get through to them? Cornel West once described these young men as nihilistic, believing that life has no intrinsic value, simply not caring about social norms and moral values. Anyone who would shoot a deadly weapon into a crowd has no regard for human life. And perhaps one could argue that these young men do not value human life because human life has not valued them. But I’m sick of making excuses for sociopaths, even as I understand the forces that created them. These shootings have to stop! I love looking at Black children, looking at their small, partly unformed faces, and wonder what kind of adult they will evolve into. Too many gun-toting criminals ensure that some of our children won’t have the opportunity to grow up. Class differences among African Americans mean that some fall asleep to the sounds of gunfire, while others know shooting from television. When we say it takes a village to raise a child, what happens to the villagers that would rob a child of life? We need to call these villains out. We need to ask their associates to call them out. Enough is enough. When you say Black Lives Matter, when you march and chant, think of 11-year Devon McNeil, 6-year Jace Young, eight-year 0ld Secoriea Turner, or seven-year-old Natalia Wallace. Their Black lives matter, too. What must we do to protect our children? (Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist.)
Check It Out
Sports have the potential to unite us (TriceEdneyWire.com)— homeland flocked to the “Racism runs rampant in Marc Morial New World to claim their towns and cities neighborhomesteads. To justify the ing large Indigenous popviolence, Native Ameriulations. I’ve been told to cans were portrayed as ‘go back to the reservation’ savages, less human than and asked by White people their “civilized” European to search for their stolen counterparts. Their cusitems on the reservation. toms, their language and The drunk Indian trope the color of their skin set permeates majority-White them apart, and referring towns and cities where Natives live in to them with a slur based on skin colpoverty. Plains Indians have also faced or served to reinforce the stereotype. slurs such as ‘prairie n-words’ and our Slurs based on skin color and othwomen referred to using the derogaer physical differences are intended tory term ‘squaw.’ Resistance literally to debase and divide. And right now, runs through our veins. Our schools more than ever, we need the power of feature mascots such as Braves, sports to unite us. Warriors, and Indians. Absent are the Athletes have played a unique role in caricatures of mainstream Washington the nation’s rocky and uneven effort Redskin fandom. We don’t partake in to overcome White supremacy. The the ‘tomahawk chop’ or reduce heritage activism displayed by Colin Kaeperto stereotypical chants. Our events nick and Eric Reid, Anquan Bolden usually involve our cultural singing and Malcom Jenkins and their Players and traditions. We don’t act a fool in Coalition, is part of a long legacy that headdresses—those are sacred symbols includes Althea Gibson, Muhammad with meaning.”— Northern Cheyenne Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. writer Angelina Newsom The NFL has made strides in recent As the United States undertakes the years, establishing a Social Justice most significant reckoning of racism Initiative to work with the Players in a generation, symbols of White Coalition, and—just last month— supremacy still loom large. From Conchanging its stance on player protests federate monuments to harmful stelike Kaepernick’s. Insisting upon a reotypes in advertising to the names name change for the Washington team of professional sports teams, American is the logical next step in the League’s culture is steeped in it. journey. Eliminating these symbols won’t Dan Snyder, the team’s owner, aneradicate racism. But we can’t eradinounced last week that the organizacate racism unless we eliminate them. tion is conducting a “thorough review” The Washington, D.C. NFL team is a of the name. The time for review is prime example. over. Native American individuals and The United States government has organizations have objected to the authorized 1,500 wars, attacks and name from the beginning. Organized raids on the indigenous people of the efforts to change the name have been land it occupies. An estimated five going on for more than 50 years. As million to 15 million indigenous peoNational Congress of American Indiple lived in North America in the 15th ans president Fawn Sharp said, “This century. By the late 19th century, fewmoment has been 87 years in the maker than a quarter-million remained. ing, and we have reached this moment The motive behind the systematthanks to decades of tireless efforts by ic slaughter and removal of Native tribal leaders, advocates, citizens, and Americans was land. Europeans who partners to educate America about the were barred from owning land in their origins and meaning of the R-word.”
Commentary
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
J.C.Watts
Commentary Impact of COVID-19 in our community (NNPA)—Washington, D.C., city attorney George Valentine was Black, brilliant, and fit. But after contracting COVID-19, he became so weak, he had trouble moving and even speaking. When it got to the point where he could barely breathe, George called an ambulance and waited on the steps of his house for it to arrive. Every second he waited must have seemed like an eternity. Two days later, George died. He was 66 and had suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure before getting sick with the coronavirus. New research seems to confirm that, across the nation, the coronavirus has disproportionately impacted Black people, with death rates more than twice as high as that for any other race. Why is this happening—and can we do anything about it? There are several explanations for the disparity, and most have to do how we live, where we work, and our underlying health conditions. There are also factors that are within our immediate control that we can all do right now to protect ourselves, but that many in our community are failing to do. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cite several possible reasons that Black Americans are more affected. One is that many of us live in more highly populated areas where it’s more difficult to practice physical distancing from one another. Many of us also live in multi-generational households where it’s easier for younger family members to spread the virus to more vulnerable elderly members. This is especially true for lower-income households with smaller living spaces. Another reason is that a large percentage of African Americans hold frontline service industry jobs as food servers, cleaners, and personal-care providers, and in fields such as nursing that are all considered essential during the pandemic, and they bravely continue to go to work each day. One other big factor is that, sadly, our people also tend to have more underlying medical conditions—like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension-that make us more vulnerable. While many of these factors are difficult to change in the near term, we can do some things immediately to reduce our risks. In my own community in Oklahoma, I’ve witnessed many Black folks not wearing masks or practicing any degree of physical distancing in public. A lot of people just plain aren’t following recommendations to keep themselves and their families safe. Let’s be real for a minute. Some of this stems from past experiences with government that make people skeptical about what they’re hearing from public officials. For some, it’s the bitter memories of government-enforced segregation and other racist policies. For others, it’s the fact the young Black men have more negative encounters with the police, and people don’t want to wear masks and give anyone an excuse for mistaking them for criminals. For others, it’s that politicians have made promises to us for decades and have failed to make good. Why trust them now? Despite all this, please don’t put your health at risk. We have to do all we can to protect our communities and our loved ones from being exposed to infection. First, avoid close contact with people who are sick. Being in the same enclosed room with somebody who has the virus can lead to infection. Second, keep at least six feet between you and others if you have to leave home. People can be infected even if they’re not showing symptoms. Third, wash your hands or sanitize them often and for at least 20 seconds. Also avoid touching your face, mouth, and eyes with unwashed hands. I know the advice about wearing masks is a tough one for many folks, but perspectives have changed during this pandemic. So, cover your mouth and nose with a bandana or other face covering if you have to leave home. The mask provides some protection for others in case you’re infected and don’t know it. Finally, be sure to get medical help if you have any flu-like symptoms or have trouble breathing, persistent pain in your chest, a fever, or a dry cough. As I write this, The Heritage Foundation’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, of which I’m a member, is wrapping up its final report offering recommendations to help us all recover from this pandemic. The commissioners are deeply concerned that COVID-19 has hit minority communities so hard and are urging medical researchers to look into how we can prevent this disproportionate impact in the future. The commission is also recommending ways that our churches and community institutions can be a positive force for encouraging people to take preventative actions to stop the spread of COVID-19. I’m hopeful that our nation will conquer this disease and that together, we will emerge from this chapter in our history stronger than before. But ultimately for that to happen, the cure must start with us.
(J.C. Watts is founder and chairman of J.C. Watts Companies, chairman of Black News Channel, and a member of National Coronavirus Recovery Commission.)