Youth Violence: One Way Street?

Recent local articles about youth violence (specifically homicides of Black youth by other Black youth) lead one to believe that these crimes are only impacting high poverty areas and usually are related to some gang violence. Current reporting in the Tennessean and the City Paper readily mentions the location of the crime, the past criminal history of the youth that has been charged as an adult, and alludes to an increase in youth violence citywide. What’s absent in the reporting are some key factors that contribute to Black youth killing other Black youth. Curious that no reporting has asked WHERE are Black youth obtaining the weapons they are using in these violent acts. We know for certain that Black youth are not purchasing them at the local gun shows. Equally as curious is the hinting of racial division at neighborhood levels which also presents in the disparity of infant mortality, overall health outcomes, and academic achievement gaps. The failure to mention these factors as well as the influences of the culture of poverty skews community perception about the community’s ability to change the outcomes, i.e. contributes more to feelings of hopelessness and apathy. When people in communities feel hopeless and apathetic, there is very little action to solve issues. And isn’t it also curious that journalists are omitting that the influences of the culture of poverty mimic gang culture? Specifically, that “on the street” groups of young Black males are shaped by that group’s dynamics and when the group dynamics incorporate violent acts as acceptable behavior then the norms for developing males (ages 11-16) are largely established. Are we ready to ask who is “on the streets” and why are they there? Maybe not, that might lead to a conversation about the ineffectiveness of offender re-entry programs that are not connected to the workforce. What about asking how and when are Black youth with “at-risk behaviors” engaged in the solutions to change their violent behavior? May not be ready to ask that question either for fear that it leads to a conversation about preventions and interventions that are designed for urban (read Black) youth that are not predicated on self-determination and the strengths of the youth’s community. In 2005, Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (www.jcci.org) published a baseline report card on race relations to measure and hold the community accountable for eliminating race-based disparities (http://www.jcci.org/jcciwebsite/documents/09%20Race%20Relations%20Progress%20Report.pdf). There cannot be a reduction of Black youth violence without a holistic, systemic mindset to develop multiple approaches that include Black youth beyond the role of service recipient. Black youth violence is not occurring within a vacuum, maybe a pipeline.