The War on Black Youth

By Talbert W. Swan, II

While I am the first to admit that our city has an increasing problem with gangs and youth violence, I am hopeful that the general public can see beyond the lurid stories about gangs of armed, drug-dealing Black youth that fill the media. Judging from the accounts detailed in the local newspaper, these juvenile have turned the community into a civil war zone and surely deserve a place in the annals of human rapacity along with Al Capone and the hordes of Attila the Hun. But despite the media sensationalism, hard evidence concerning "killer gangs" is hard to come by. While we acknowledge the problems with drugs and violence, we must be careful not to allow city government to use the lurid tales about "killer gangs" to justify a war on Black and Latino youth.

I was appalled to read comments by West Springfield Police Chief Thomas E. Burke and Captain Ronald P. Campurciani pertaining to a Big E concert by rapper Ludacris, which had been scheduled for September 30. Anticipating the attendance of throngs of Black and Latino youth from Hartford, New Haven, New Jersey and, of course, Springfield, Chief Burke stated, “You know the problems we have down there on Springfield nights.” Campurciani chimed in by stating, “We’re prepared for war. The question is, do you want to go to war?”

I found it quite disturbing that two high ranking law enforcement officials felt they had to “prepare for war” in order to secure a rap concert, which they assumed would be attended by mostly Black and Latino youth. After I spoke about the topic on my radio talk show, the two police officers were allowed to defend their racist remarks in The Republican newspaper. Since I have never been a favorite with the brass at The Republican for my candor and gall to criticize their coverage of the African American community, they refused to mention my name or radio program in the article. Instead, the paper stated that “some in Springfield have taken issue with the statement that Springfield Ludacris fans - along with those from Hartford, New Haven and New Jersey - may be inclined to cause trouble. The topic made the local talk show circuit after the news hit.” I must admit that it is quite flattering to know that the local media listens to my show to get the pulse of the African American community.

It was quite refreshing to find that I was not the only one who thought the remarks by West Springfield police were inappropriate. Russell Denver, president of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, said remarks of the West Side police were "ludicrous" and “inappropriate.” While Chief Burke and his officers deny that racism and the social control of minorities played part in their beefed up, warlike security for the Ludacris concert which ended up being cancelled allegedly due to low advance ticket sales, we know better.

The new “war on crime” is reminiscent of the “war on drugs” that began in the 1980s. Since that so-called “war” began, unconstitutional laws, which dictated crack cocaine offenders (who are mostly Black) be treated more harshly than powder cocaine offenders (who are mostly white and middle class), were enacted and thousands of Black men, many of them being first-time offenders, found themselves locked away while their white counterparts received probation.

It is no accident that law enforcement is largely targeted against youth of color, resulting in higher rates of incarceration for Black youth, including those with no history of violence or high-level drug activity. The fact is that Black and Latino youth are three times more likely to be arrested and 48 times more likely to be incarcerated than white youth.

Along with the demonization of crack cocaine is the hysteria generated by the growing social menace of youth gangs. These youth, we are told by media accounts, are tightly organized crime units armed with semiautomatic weapons and running sophisticated drug operations. Despite the media hype, most police departments downplay the extent of the gang problem. This is not to suggest that drug peddling and addiction is not a problem among Black youth. It is a mass problem affecting all youth and a considerable section of the adult population. Nor is it to suggest that violence is not a problem among Black youth. Violence is the leading cause of death among all males fifteen to twenty-four years of age.

Neither is it to deny that Black youth hang out in gangs and sometimes adopt uniform dress codes. But it has always been the natural tendency of young people to hang out in groups and dress alike. More importantly, there can be no possible, valid objection to their doing so. Hanging out in groups is not illegal; it is in fact a right protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Life is not tranquil for Black youth, plagued as they are by poverty, unemployment (double that of white youth) and diminishing social opportunity. It is noteworthy that these alarming statistics get so little attention in the media. But in order to address the problems with a commitment to Black youth, stereotypes must be discarded and mutual respect for everyone must be the standard.

It is unfortunate that police are more likely to arrest and charge Black offenders, and less likely to draw a line between boyish mischief and crime. Under the guise of the "war on drugs" and the “war on crime,” federal and state civil rights statutes and the Bill of Rights are violated with impunity. It is by no means an accident that the media has adopted combat metaphors, invoking emotion-laden comparisons like "Beirut, U.S.A.," "civil war zones" and "regions under siege."

The so-called “wars,” such as the one West Springfield police prepared to wage last month, are primarily wars on Black youth. They are the continuation of a policy to preempt at all costs the emergence of Black youth as a political force to be reckoned with. The rebellious Black youth in South Africa, along with the Civil Rights Movement and the Black rebellions of the 1960s in this country, stand as examples to today's youth of the power of organized Black political action. But that potential is an extremely alarming prospect to the people who run this country.

In order to support and protect its youth, the Black community must demand an end to police harassment and violence, the creation of job programs, support of recreational facilities, and the provision adequate drug treatment and public health facilities. Florida congressman Bill McCollum was once quoted as saying America's teenagers are "the most violent criminals on the face of the Earth." What the congressman did not mention was the fact that they were being raised in the most violent country on the earth. It is vital that we balance our views of youth violence with the culture of the country that has produced it.