Bullhorn Whisper: August 12, 2018
In Chicago, trauma of the dark past has flared up again. Last weekend, gun violence claimed the lives of 12 people in African-American neighborhoods and wounded 63 others.
A message to the brothers in the community: Don’t do the dirty work of white supremacy.
In the racist’s mind, the lives and souls of black folks are still worth nothing — it’s the black bodies that matter. For you, as walking targets, each bullet you receive represents pure profit for the NRA and weapons makers.
The forces that created this nightmare of gun culture have a long history, going back to the age of slavery. The fact is, the nation has never reconciled with its bloody legacy and the evidence remains an open wound. Those who are born into and cannot escape from poverty are taught they have no self worth — and some will act accordingly.
As a society, we have to come together in order to prevent homicides through educating, healing and helping, not authoritarian bluster and bravado.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has called for neighbors to come forward to help identify suspects, but in the community, local activists say that until the relationship between the police and the people who live there improves, the same cycle will continue.
What the mayor and outside critics may not understand is the real fear residents face everyday and the risk they run in reporting crimes — or ‘snitching’ — particularly in an environment where there is already risk of being shot by supposed protectors.
Willie Round, an organizer for the nonprofit Live Free Chicago, resides in the neighborhood where 10 out of the 12 murders occurred. He spoke at a press gathering on Monday.
“If people knew that they was protected,” Round said, “that they had the police on their side, they’d comply more, they would be more helpful with solving cases. Seventeen percent of the cases — that’s how many cases that they solve — that says to me that the police is not doing its job.”
Grassroots advocates want a change in priorities from prosecution and incarceration to prevention and peace — programs for outreach, trauma support and jobs.
“It’s the small things that the police could do, and the community could also do to help build the relationship back,” Round said.
* * *
Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” opens this weekend, and this writer looks forward to seeing it. The timeliness of his new joint, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the Charlottesville domestic terrorist attack, along with other recent projects, (see also the prescient “Pass Over”) further elevates the activist-director’s stature as auteur and statesman of American culture.
For emphasis, African-American culture is truly American culture. A house divided — whether segregated or disintegrated — will not stand.
Until next week, stay woke and stay safe.
WBC
Posted: August 12, 2018
