The year 2015 was challenging for African-American males. We were shot, killed and seriously injured at record rates, according to some reports.
There were national cases which caught our attention. The relationship between Black men and the police has soured to a point where we must be careful and cautious about our every move. Many African-American men like me have often said that when we leave home in the morning there is no guarantee that we will return home in the evening.
The Black Lives Matter Movement has created such a stir that presidential hopefuls like Bernie Sanders are talking about it and making it a part of their campaign. Other candidates dispute the legitimacy of the movement and attach no importance to it.
If you live in a major urban area, you see the murder rate among African-American males spiraling out of control. While an argument can be made about strained relationships between law enforcement and Black men, the overwhelming majority of these murders happen because of us.
We, as Black men, are killing and maiming other Black men. This is a fact that is painful yet undisputable. However, this Black-on-Black crime epidemic seemingly does not get our full attention. Where is our outrage as Black people when Black children bring guns to school in their book bags? Why is there not equal disgust when rival Black gangs indiscriminately shoot into unsuspecting crowds of innocent people?
As I read newspaper stories and Internet accounts about these senseless acts of violence, I often wonder if we, as Black people, have simply become immune to violence.
Have we reached a low point in our culture where we now try to justify Black men shooting each other? Yet when a police officer shoots a Black man some of us are the first to march and scream and holler.
