"But what about Black on Black crime?"

This question is literally more aggravating to me than when my mom asks, "So if all your friends jump off a cliff, are you gonna jump too??" But I'm going to answer it because black on black crime IS a HUGE problem in our community and becoming educated on it's history is the first step to moving forward. Additionally, I want the people that use this question as a diversion from the problem of systemic racism, to understand the history of it so that we can all move forward together.

Before I begin, I would like to share that Black people, according to the most recent Homicide Trends study, commit 93% (or so) of crime against each other and White people commit 84% of crime against each other (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1980-2008). Neither are acceptable, but this just goes to show that violence against your own race is not just a "Black" issue.

Okay, now I can start. Let's go back in time to the 1920's. In the South, segregation is the law, and life is intolerable for Black people. As a result, between the periods of 1920 and 1950, there was a mass movement of Black people to Northern cities. This was clearly a great idea because the North was integrated and wonderful, right? Wrong. African-American evangelist, Tom Skinner describes integration in the North as "that period between the time when the first black family moves into a neighborhood and the last white family moves out." And although there was no LAW (per-say) keeping black people from living in white neighborhoods, we were generally not allowed to buy or sell in white neighborhoods and were forced to live in substandard communities set aside for Black folks. In places like Harlem, which was 40% slums at the time, it was not uncommon for the for landlords to neglect living standards so badly that women would sometimes wake to see their infant eaten alive in their crib by giant rats (Skinner,1970).

Now let's fast forward 20 years (to the 70's) and look at Chicago. Again, systemic racism rears its ugly head and as a result, black people, who made up 30% of the Chicago's population, are forced to live on just 10% of the land. If we do the math here, that's about 30,000 Black people per square mile, as opposed to 3,000 white people per square mile (Skinner,1970).

NOW I'm getting to my point. Do you know what happens when you try to squeeze too many people into a crowded space? Charles Darwin said it best, "survival of the fittest." And because survival is not guaranteed in these communities, the goal becomes to escape. Unless you're an academic anomaly, getting rich or getting famous seem (to many) to be the only two plausible means for escaping the hood. But if you don't have outstanding musical, academic or athletic abilities, there appears to be only one other option- finding a hustle. In this game, if someone "jacks your hustle", you "jack them" (i.e., beat them badly) because that's YOUR livelihood they're messing with. Someone questions your ego, you "smoke them" (i.e., kill them) because your ego is the only thing you have to make you feel like somebody in a place that's designed for nobodies. Not saying this is right, I'm just explaining a mentality. A mentality that was perpetually CONDITIONED into the Black inner-city community through intentional negligence, targeted poverty and racism. Tell someone they're 3/5ths of a human being long enough, eventually they start to believe you! Discourage someone from becoming someone enough times, eventually they stop trying.

Even today in less crowded areas, the system plays a significant role in making sure low-income Black families stay in low-income areas with little opportunities to advance. VOCABULY WORD OF THE DAY: GENTRIFICATION (learn it kids). Gentrification is defined as "a trend in urban neighborhoods, which results in increased property values and the displacement of lower-income families and small businesses. This is a common and widespread, controversial practice in urban planning. It refers to shifts in an urban community lifestyle and an increasing share of wealthier residents and/or businesses and increasing property values" (dictionary.com). When communities are gentrified, the people who were living there are only further isolated. They now have fewer resources, less homes, and less space, which furthers and perpetuates the survival of the fittest mentality.

So if you REALLY want to look at "Black on Black" crime, stop using it as a scapegoat to the real problem in America: systemic racism. It is deeply rooted in the injustices of society. and our government will need to allocate time and resources to the areas they have isolated for so long before we can see any real improvements.

Sources:

1. Urbanamissions. "Tom Skinner Urbana 1970." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 15 July 2016.

2. "The Definition of Gentrification." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2016.

3. "Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008." Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2016.