Men lie, women lie, but the numbers don’t lie. There are some Black men who will turn a blind-eye. There are some Black women who will find comfort in denial. But the numbers still tell a hard-truth: the Black community in America is enduring a gun violence crisis that doesn’t seem to be lessening anytime soon. Things are getting worse.
Opinion
In December 2022 ABC News reported that firearm deaths among Black men were at a 28-year high with those between the ages of 20-40 bearing the greatest risk. According to the report, Black men at the time were “23 times more likely to experience firearm-related homicide than white men.” These are numbers that tell a tale that cannot be disproven: that the condition of Black men in America is deteriorating at the hands of other Black men – not the government, not law enforcement. We are our own worst enemy.
Many of us like to advocate that Black Lives Matter. However, If Black America cannot show to the world that Black lives matter within our own communities, how can we, and why should we, expect any other race to respect our petitions for a redress of grievances. In an era where high murder rates per capita are glorified on every street corner and in every other rap song, no legislative chamber – state or federal – is going to take us seriously whenever we scream or shout about America not caring about a Black life. How many times have we heard that Black people don’t care about Black lives? Are the people who make such comments lying? No, they’re not. Rather, they are telling a hard-truth.
A 2022 Washington Informer report revealed that nearly 90 percent of Black Homicide victims were killed with guns. The report was based on a study by D.C.-based Violence Policy Center that also publicized that, in 2019, the U.S. “recorded 7,441 Black homicide victims.” How many of those homicides can we reasonably suspect were committed by any person, group, faction or entity other than another Black person? The report goes on to state that “African Americans represent 14% of the U.S. population but accounted for 52 percent of all homicide victims.” These are the numbers, and numbers don’t lie. We’re sleepwalking into a self-imposed genocide.
When speaking with Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar about the most recent homicide in his city, that of my step-brother, I made a mention about there being a crisis among the Black males. McCollar responded, “In regards to the epidemic amongst Black males, you are right. There must be a dramatic change. What our young men are facing is a societal breakdown that has increased gun access to an already vulnerable and disenfranchised population. If we are going to fix this, then there must be some tough truths that we are willing to address in spite of push back from dysfunctional societal norms and political correctness.”
You see, we can talk about change. We can lament that another family is devastated over the loss of a relative to senseless gun violence, but what are we going to do about it? If people of a community are not willing to take the steps necessary to make their own community a safer place, even if it means making a statement that violence will not be tolerated by one of their own, then the whole Black Lives Matter concept needs to purchase for itself a one-way ticket to oblivion. Because it is nothing but a joke, and along the walls of the chambers and halls of the power-holders that are tasked with the objective of ensuring our communities are safe we hear laughter and mockery
His name was Antwan Strickland, born and raised in Statesboro, Ga. He was 39, just under 40 and within the 20-40 greater risk range. He was the biological brother of my sister and brother. He was my step-brother, all the same. He will be missed. The work, however, must continue. Hopefully, we will get there. If not, we can expect the count of Black men in America to drastically decline by 2050 – with no one to blame but Black men in America.
Lawrence Anthony Brannen,
Member (ACLU of Georgia and NAACP),
Founder/President of Ex-Offenders for Reform and Advancement, Inc.
