" What is it about black life that causes folks outside and inside of our community to feel that it's alright to kill us?"
Now before you all start coming at me with the usual pitch, "Well, Black people kill each other more than anyone else does. How come we never complain about that?" allow me to first begin by saying that yes the issue of black self-genocide is horrific and should be aggressively dealt with as it is plaguing the entire country. But I believe that a more pertinent question we should be asking is; what is it about black life that causes folks outside and inside of our community to feel that it's alright to kill us?
What is it about black life that causes law enforcement officers and self-styled vigilantes to end it without hesitation or even remorse? Is black life, specifically that of black males, seen as valueless?
In these past and more recent cases of young black men being killed or assaulted by whites, white men in particular, the same excuse is usually made, i.e. "I felt threatened" or "I thought my life was in danger."
This is all quite very ironic since black folks as a whole don't have a history of killing white folks. Once again as some folks say, "Black folks kill each other most of the time." So the whole "I felt threatened attitude" goes out the window.
What would happen if young white men begin being murdered by black law enforcement officers or even by white law enforcement officers or by black or white self-appointed vigilantes? Would it be justified the way that the deaths of young black men are?
Such cases involving individuals like Michael Dunn cause me to ask myself if Dr. Frances Cress Welsing was correct when she asserted in her book, The Isis Papers that white males are subconsciously and consciously in fear of black men. We must ask ourselves, "What is it about black manhood that is seen as so horrific by many folks to the degree that it could cost a young black man his life?" I feel it is important to study the pathology of white male supremacy as it relates to how black males are treated in society. If not we can expect to see the murders of more and more black men taking place.
Doshon Farad is a staff writer for Your Black World, Your Black Bloggers, and The Movement Magazine. He contributes to several other publications. He's also a broadcast journalist. He can be followed on twitter @doshonfarad. And on Facebook www.facebook.com/doshon.farad You can contact him at jarogersscholars@hotmail.com .
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