Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

An Enemy within the African American Race Jamar Turner WRT 1020 Professor Agee April 4, 2014 Madonna University

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

Abstract Homicides have a huge affect on black communities, every time you turn on the news there is another black person being murdered. Something needs to be done to stop black on black homicides from continuing to increase. These homicides affect black communities because it scares those who live in these neighborhoods and influences the children that grow up there. The United States homicide rate is declining as a whole but increasing in terms of black on black homicide. An idea for ceasing this problem would be to put the death penalty everywhere in the nation, this way people would think again before committing these murders.

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

Black on black homicide is at an all-time high, it was reported that an average of 7,000 African-Americans are murdered each year and 94 percent of the time the murderer was black (Gazette, Gaston). Homicides are committed everyday and a large amount of them are black on black crimes. Homicides have a huge affect on black communities. The rate for black homicide is increasing mainly because of specific cities with African-American communities that cause a lot of murders in the United States. Statistics suggest that a young black man has a higher chance of being shot and killed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania than in Afghanistan or Iraq serving as a soldier, said Scott Charles. It is a shame that African-Americans have to live in neighborhoods where there is high chance of being killed just by walking to the store. It is not safe for anyone in some of these neighborhoods because anyone can get killed at any time, but it is mainly the black males who continue to die from homicides. This is a problem that should be focused on heavily until it is solved. The phrase stop the violence needs to become more than a phrase, it needs to become an action. Everyone knows of someone that has been killed due to homicide, so it would bring joy to everybody if the violence was ended so that everyone could live a comfortable and peaceful life. Homicides have a gigantic affect on black communities because there are so many being committed in the neighborhoods of African Americans. Shamefully murders take place all around the world every day, effecting millions of people whom lose their love ones to senseless violence. These killings can happen anywhere at anytime because they have become so unpredictable but at the same time expected to happen because of how much murders occur. Unfortunately it seems that the African American race is affected by homicides more than any other race because they are more likely to happen within the African American race than any other human race.

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

The Bureau of justice reported that in the year of 2007, there were 8,000 people murdered in America. The justice bureau also reports that other years previous to 2007, the murder rate in America toppled 9,000 murders at yearly rate. Surprisingly 93 percent of those that committed the 8,000- 9,000 murders were black (reported by Bureau of Justice). The black homicide rate is not getting any better as we are in the year of 2014 and these murders are committed almost if not every day. These statistics from past years prove that African-Americans kill those of the same race more than others kill blacks, and this is a problem that is continuing. And as time continues on, sadly so does the murder rate. Homicides continue to have a huge affect on black communities. History shows that during times were African-Americans we legally discriminated against, black communities all across America stood together in unity because they needed each other to stand up for what was right. The African-American community protested together on one accord for common causes. Fast forward some 50 years past the Civil Rights era, black on black crime is at an all time high. What went wrong? How could African Americans began to fight against each other even though at a point in time they were a team? This is very puzzling because there is really no exact reason for the way black people treat each other. Genocide is defined by dictionary.com as The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political or cultural. This issue could be considered as a genocide using the dictionary.com definition because these homicides are truly destroying the African American race. Some scholars even relate to African American males as being an endangered species. With all the black on black homicides being committed it seems as if the African American race is at a war within itself.

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

The African American community has been stricken by unemployment, and most importantly, black on black crime. As neighboring communities all across America, grow with these issues of unemployment, crime and what most scholars relate to as genocide, the same communities continue to endure. According to research, between 1999 and now homicides involving firearms increased 31 percent among black men ages 25 to 44 (Montaldo, Charles). Alternative solutions should be created to decrease this epidemic. If solutions are not placed into action, to decrease the murder rate, local communities will dwindle, states will twinge and the United States of America will suffer for generations to come. The main causes of homicides would have to be unemployment, drop out students, misguided children who grow up with no father figure, gangs, and the easy access of weapons. Those who commit murders most likely have nothing to lose and nothing to look forward to so they end up getting into trouble because there are not a lot of positive things to seek in every black community. Some young African Americans feel alone and in order to get attention young teenagers join gangs and fall into a life of crime. This mindset is developed over time by growing up in certain cities because that is all that is displayed. With the black on black homicide rate increasing in black communities, there are ways to decrease it or even stop it. Various alternatives exist in ending black homicides. One is to charge everyone who commits a murder that is not an action of self defense with the death penalty. The death penalty would cause those who are on the verge of committing a homicide to think again because the ultimate punishment would be at risk. It is amazing how times have changed because African-Americans used to protest, riot, and fight together but now there is a war within the race. A large amount of the homicides are committed by young black males, it is obvious that these young African-Americans are mislead and angry about something. Some young black teens do

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

not have fathers around or some grow up around the wrong crowd. Placing a positive male role model in the life of these young teenagers would have a positive influence on some lives because having someone to look up to is a big help in life. Though a lot of these teens feel that they dont have to listen to anyone especially someone that is just placed into their life but if the right people could get the chance to pass on their positivity to a negative young mind it could work. Anything is possible so a decrease in the black on black homicide can happen as long as there is true commitment to stopping the problem at hand. No one in their right mind would believe that there is nothing wrong with the black on black homicide problem. But those who arent in the correct state of mind would express that the homicides arent that bad or try to justify the reasons these murders happen. They would also argue that these homicides dont have that much of an affect on the black community because there are some examples of people that are African Americans that come from tough neighborhoods and found a way to make it out of the tough neighborhood that they were growing up in. Honestly there are examples of blacks that survived their dangerous neighborhoods they lived in such as professional basketball player Lebron James who grew up in Akron, Ohio where he lived in an apartment with his mom and no father, or the famous R&B singer Kem who grew up on the Westside of Detroit which happens to be a very dangerous part of the city. Though there are blacks that made it out of tough communities the people who didnt make it out outweigh the population that did. Also everybody that comes from the hood does not get equal opportunity as the next person. It is a blessing to have a talent that will get a person away from a dangerous place to avoid being a homicide statistic like many others. Those who dont have the opportunity like others simply face the troubles of everyday life in these bad areas where you can easily be a victim of homicide. Being blessed with a talent or intelligence does

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

not guarantee success in beating the odds because there have been many people who were supposed escape their dangerous community but couldnt for example a former local Detroit rapper named Blade Icewood was on his way to stardom but was murdered by another black male in 2005. Sadly even African Americans that become rich or famous can become victims of homicide. Famous hip-hop stars such as Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G were victims of black on black homicides and they both so happen to come from tough neighborhoods growing up. The horrendous amount of African-American homicide leaves the population of blacks in a defensive mindset. Ninety-four percent of murderers that are killing blacks are AfricanAmericans (reported by Gazette, Gaston). This leaves many parents, brothers, and sisters afraid of being another victim. These homicides make blacks feel uncomfortable in their own households in these neighborhoods. However, most of the homicides committed are due to same race, according to The Wall Street Journal. Chicago, Detroit and Oakland are just a few cities that cause a massive amount of black on black murders. The killings can be labeled as meaningless because it makes no sense to hear about another dead body everyday on the news, but these murders are gang related some even involving drugs. With weapons being so easy to obtain, anyone can get one and therefore an average of 7,000 blacks are murdered each year (reported by The Decider for Global Grind Staff). Young African-American children are raised in neighborhoods where someone is murdered almost every day and they witness it, this has a huge influence on these kids. These homicides also have a huge affect on the United States of America because when such stars are murdered by their own kind it makes the entire African American race look ignorant and it truly hurts the fans of those black superstars who may be Hispanic, Caucasian or even Asian. So this problem is even bigger than just the black

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

community since it can affect the entire country which makes it more serious. This is a tremendous problem in America and it must be stopped because it will continue to have a negative effect on the black community for generations to come. Therefore homicides have a gigantic affect on black communities because there are so many being committed in the neighborhoods of African Americans.

Running Head: An Enemy within the African American Race

References Gabbay, T. (2012, April 9). Race Wars Part 1: The Shocking Data on Black on Black Crime. Theblaze.com. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/04/09/racewars-part-1-the-shocking-data-on-black-on-black-crime/. Gazette, G. (2012, May 24). Stop The Violence! 7,000 Black People Murdered Each Year By Other Blacks. GlobalGrind.com. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from www.globalgrind.com Mcwhirter, C. (2012, August 12). Communities Struggle to Break a Grim Cycle of Killing. WSJ.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014, from online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304830704577496501048197464.html Montaldo, C. (n.d.). Homicide Rate Among Young Men Rise Sharply Increased 31% Among Black Men. Crime.about.com. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from crime.about.com/od/stats/a/gun_homicide.htm Muhammad, L. (2013, January 8). "Criminal Minds: 10 Cities (Besides Chicago) With High Murder Rates [PHOTOS]." HipHopWired.com. Retrieved April 20, 2014 from http://hiphopwired.com/2013/01/18/criminal-minds-10-cities-besides-chicago-with-high-murderrates-photos.