The slaying of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and quite a few other black men at the hand of police officers, has given birth to a slogan and movement entitled “Black Lives Matter.” I fully endorse this campaign that was created to bring attention to the senseless slaying of black men by policemen, who in some cases, resorted to the use of deadly force when it was not necessary. I believe that this movement, along with the use of cell phones and body cameras, has been a deterrent to much police abuse and brutality. Many officers on the force have had to think before they resorted to deadly force unnecessarily or risk the chance of being caught red-handed on camera.
Nevertheless, in spite of the success of this movement that is geared toward stopping the slaying of African-Americans at the hand of bias and abusive law enforcement agents, there is still a murderous beast on the loose called “black on black homicide” that is snuffing out the lives of far more black men in one month, than all of the police slayings in 20 years. Although there has been a faint outcry with meager media attention given to the terrible plight of black on black crime and homicides, to our shame and detriment, we seem to lack the desire, the courage, and the communal support to confront this problem and to resolve it. Many of the voices and activists who have cried out against police brutality and abuse are either apathetic or completely silent when it comes to black on black crime and homicides. I am not pointing a finger or on a faultfinding mission in doing this article. I admire and respect the Al Sharptons, Jessie Jacksons, and others who act as advocates and activists for equality and social change. Although I do not embrace all of their liberal ideas and opportunistic interventions and appearances when there is an incident that attracts high media coverage, I nevertheless applaud their efforts and courage. I have come to believe that what they are doing is a genuine call from God. He has given them grace to function as He did with William Wilberforce, President Lincoln, Dr. King, and so many others that He has used throughout history to relieve the oppressed. Howbeit, as commendable as their efforts are to address and to alleviate police profiling and abuse, they have either downplayed or totally disregarded the greater problem of black on black crime and homicides. In all sincerity, I submit that “these things they should be doing and not leave the other undone”.
We are living in a time and culture when there is an escalation of black people who are being murdered by black on black killings, drive by shootings, domestic violence, and turf battles and reprisals by gangs and drug traffickers. Where is the outcry against these killings and violence? Why aren’t there mass protests and demonstrations going on across America against black on black crime and killings like what occurred when Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and others were slain at the hand of law enforcement officers? Have we given the thugs, drug dealers, gang members, and other “brothers” a pass simply because they are black, in spite of the fact that they are the greatest menace and detriment to the African American community? Have we allowed ourselves to be romanticized and desensitized by gangster rap music, movies, and television shows that portray these derelicts, these devils as heroes and icons? Few may wonder why our culture and community is in a wretched state. Others may wonder why so many streets of most of the urban and metropolitan areas are no longer safe places to have a nightly stroll. They have become battle zones due to gang violence, drug trafficking, and drive-by shootings. They have become like jungles where only the strong survive and those who are street smart know how to avoid and elude the predatory practices of the beasts that are seemly always on the prowl for fresh meat and victims.
The dilemma of black on black crime and homicides are not just an urban or big city plight. However, right here in our little southern and rural locale, we have a serious problem with these atrocities as well. Crime, violence, and homicides continue to plague the African American community. These things have become so common-place and entrenched in both the fabric of our communities and psychology that we, for the most part, have erringly accepted them as who and what we are with little resistance and effort to change or reverse the trend. Regrettably, we are beset by the thought that things are never going to change and since it has become a trans-generational reality we just accept and adjust. We have done an outstanding job of adapting and accepting the evil encroachment and invasion of these thugs, gangsters, drug dealers, and others who are exploiting our apathy, ignorance, and fear. Police abuse, profiling, and even senseless slayings, as illegal and horrendous as they certainly are, are pale in comparison to the epidemic of black on black crime and homicides. It is high time that we as citizens rise up and take back what we have allowed others to take away and steal. It is time that we cast aside the fact that they are black, somebody’s child, or grandchild and accept the fact that these defiant ones are the worst enemies that our communities have. Ironically, the very ones who ought to be building up and enriching our neighborhoods are the ones who are tearing it down.
Regrettably, the greatest challenge and threat to our sanity and survival, our ability to recover from poverty, ignorance, and enduring racism are those who were born and reared in black families and communities.
Who, due to their criminal and warped mindset, care nothing about the fact that black lives matter.
Hopefully this poem that I have written will convey and can prove the point that I am trying to make here:
The Enemy from Within
We pondered and searched in desperation
Why it was so difficult for us to rise
Until at last being in consternation
It appeared before our eyes
There it had been for quite a while
Looking at us straight in the face
With a charming yet devious smile
A progeny born and reared in this desolate place
So at last we knew without a doubt
Our enemy’s true identity and name
It wasn’t one who came from without
That had brought us such agony and shame
Being heartbroken we withdraw to our abode
In much distraught and dismay
Carrying the guilt and heavy load
Of why we are in such a miserable way
—Michael E. Goings
Outreach Family Fellowship, Senior Pastor
Dillon/Florence, South Carolina
