The debate going on in Black America right now is whether the system needs to change or does the community need to change. The system is a general reference to the longstanding barriers that people of color encounter as they pursue education, employment, business and home ownership in a world where they have to overcome disenfranchisement, unfair treatment, harassment and a constant threat of death at the hands of police or their own peers.
With the recent news of 16-year-old Tyquan Howard being shot and killed in front of a Brooklyn building on Tuesday after he took part in beating a 15-year-old girl and stealing her Air Jordans back in March, one question, although controversial, is why are Black people quick to retaliate on their own before they retaliate on the “real ops” or opposition? It’s a ridiculous sentiment, but has been used for years to support arguments about “Black-on-Black” crime and fodder for racists who have stereotypical ideologies about people of color.
Just to add context, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was murdered in broad daylight by two overzealous white men back in February. A video of the horrid shooting went viral in May. The reaction of the Black community included everything from people protesting in the streets to people tagging #RunWithMaud on social media. But, absolutely no one had the audacity and courage to take the two perpetrators out the way they took Arbery out. In fact, the men were able to stay in their cozy homes for about two months before being arrested and charged.
In the case of Tyquan Howard, the incident was captured on video and the teens involved were immediately charged for the crime. Unfortunately, Howard was marked for death the moment he involved himself in the gang-affiliated jumping of the 15-year-old and, while a suspect has yet to be apprehended, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that his murder was some sort of retaliation. Now, let’s see how long it will take police to crack that case.
But, if we’re going to be vigilantes, why are we comfortable killing our own and not those who actually inflict pain and injustices on our community everyday? The ones who curated the environment of poverty and lack of resources in which the derivatives are inevitably crime and violence. Not condoning it, but how often do we hear of Black people retaliating on corrupt cops or white supremacists? On the other hand, how often do we hear about Black people giving other Black people a break?
To draw the point to a close, think about the “gunmen” that assassinated public figures Malcolm X, Marvin Gaye, Tupac Shakur, Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, to name a few. Most of the gunmen were people who were in their circles and/or who looked like them. It just doesn’t make logical sense. We all know that division is a tactic of the ops. A house divided against itself cannot stand. We also know that if we continue in this inertia, nothing will ever change. Insanity is the definition of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
So, again, the question is controversial and even taboo, but it needs to be asked…does the system need to change or does the community need to change? Another question is why are Black folks, who are a mere 12.6% of the U.S. population, always the target of adverse or controversial news?
There’s so many questions and the only way we will ever find the answers is if we have public discourse about uncomfortable topics.
