These are black people killing black people. It’s self-genocide. People have been accepting this like it was normal.”
— Sharif Amenhotep, Newark Anti-violence Activist
Our new Federal holiday, Juneteenth, is a powerful reminder of the millions who were enslaved in our country, as well as those who fought to end slavery. Unfortunately, the holiday was not the celebration it might have been.
In Washington D.C., three people were shot and a 15 year-old boy laid on the ground begging for his mother as he died. He was not a target, just the unlucky recipient of a bullet released by a thoughtless thug. Meanwhile, Chicago celebrated Juneteenth by shooting 38 people and killing four. In Baltimore, at least four people were killed and six others injured in weekend shootings. All black-on-black violence.
Other Juneteenth incidents were reported in California, South Carolina, Michigan, and Colorado. One mother told reporters, “My little boys know the difference between gunshots and fireworks–they shouldn’t have to know that.”
By June 19th, 1865, 2.2 million Union troops had fought for emancipation, and almost 400 thousand of them had died in some of the bloodiest battles in history. But the blood still flows–even as both whites and blacks celebrate this important holiday. The difference here is that death did not come from a battle, or at the hands of a slaveholder with a whip, but by black men with guns.
True, I am a white guy, so there will be some who think I shouldn’t write about this subject. But that kind of thinking would also imply that Lincoln should have stayed out of the slavery debate. OK, so if this is a black-only conversation, here is Sharif Amenhotep, a black man who has lived experience–manslaughter, prison, and the kind of life-changing events that have taught him much, and HE says gun violence and black-on-black crime are terrorizing the black community. It has to stop.
He says, “We can’t be afraid of a few little gangbangers. We’re in a battle for the hearts and souls of our young people, for our streets, for our heritage. This violence is epidemic. People in this city are in danger every day. We can’t be afraid to speak the truth.”
Shall we continue to bury innocents because we’d rather bury the truth than be politically incorrect?
Jim
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