Black Leaders Still Silent on Black-on-Black Crime

After the outcry following the not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman, most of the loudest voices among the so-called leaders of the black community remain silent on the subject of black-on-black crime. I tackle this issue today in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. 

Among other things, I make the case that as long as black people shy away from pursuing meaningful discussions about the crime rampant in our own communities and if black families remain fractured, and if spiritual and civic leaders don’t lead, the killing culture will continue to thrive:

According to FBI data, 4,906 blacks killed other blacks in 2010 and 2011.  To put that number in context, that is more than the total number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq over the last decade.

To put it another way, more black Americans killed other blacks in two years than were lynched from 1882-1968, according to the Tuskegee Institute.

We do ourselves a disservice as a nation when we focus on the sensational headline to the exclusion of the statistical low-hanging fruit. 

Despite the preponderance of television cameras, we blacks often avoid turning the spotlight on ourselves. Meanwhile, a parade of caskets are being filled with the bodies of America’s future. The culture of death in America’s inner cities thrives, while any hope of progress is buried beneath cyber screeds and seven minute Television segments.

You can read my full article here.