Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
A new report by the Violence Policy Center finds that in the state of California, black males have a homicide rate more than 14 times that of whites and nearly four times that of Hispanics.
When young girls and women are included, African American children are nearly five times more likely to be killed than any other ethnic group in the state.
Though all the findings are disturbing, what is truly heart wrenching is the fact that homicide is the No. 1 cause of death for African American youth and young adults ages 10 to 24, with more than half the victims being murdered by strangers.
In the face of such startling statistics, one could reasonably assume that the state is working diligently to reduce gang violence, increasing efforts to fight recidivism while also utilizing preventive methods to stop the violence before it starts.
That would be the wrong assumption.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has recently shifted more than $70 million from the adult programming budget to bolster prison security. This is in addition to the $250 million slashed from education, drug rehabilitation and other programs.
In a state where police officers are notoriously trigger happy, strangers are murdering people without provocation, and gang violence has witnessed a resurgence. Young African American children are stepping into a war zone every time they leave home.
"The issue stems from a volatile environment and negative parental influence," says Edward Bradley, a retired corrections officer with the state of California for 22 years. "They get out of prison, fall back into their same patterns and their children emulate their behavior."
"The remedy lies in increased parental involvement," Bradley continues, "and also in a renewed focus on the church. There are many faith-based programs available to our black and Hispanic families in the church to strengthen the family structure, as well as mentorship programs based in the community that parents can utilize to enhance the lives of our children. We just have to get them to take advantage of all the positive resources available to them."
The Parent Accountability Act, a new California law sponsored by assemblyman Tony Mendoza, gives judges the option of sending parents for training when their kids are convicted of gang crimes for the first time. Eventually, though, parents already struggling financially will have to pay for the classes out of pocket.
Sadly, in the face of this cultural carnage, the Republican Party would rather usher in a political age of "personal responsibility" (code words for "not our concern") while refusing to address any possibility that these fiscal reductions may be exacerbating the problem.
Programs such as Homeboy Industries, which assists young people in transitioning out of gangs, are integral to providing a safer environment for our children. In South Central L.A., former gang members have formed an organization to ensure students walking to and from school in gang-infested neighborhoods arrive safely. From grocery stores in Crenshaw to Jamaican restaurants in Leimert Park, they are out there trying to raise money for their cause. We need to see this level of involvement modeled around the state of California and the nation.
We must fight to ensure that our children receive a quality education and that our schools are equipped with metal detectors and ample security.
We must support our businesses, supply our young people with employment and strive to have an open dialogue with them so they don't feel alone in a world.
More importantly, as parents, we must raise our children, not just give birth to them. Just last week as I was walking to my car in East L.A., a young African American boy asked me what bus to take to get to his grandmother's house. He couldn't have been more than 9 years old. We have to break this cycle of neglect and apathy as it pertains to our children, or their blood is on our hands.
It is imperative that we take responsibility for our own families, while also demanding that we are treated and protected like human beings in this country instead of some three-fifths variation.
Our children's lives are at stake.