Sean Taylor's Murder Reveals a Bigger Problem of Black-on-Black Crime

Sean Taylor's Murder Reveals a Bigger Problem of Black-on-Black Crime

It is a sad commentary in America that black-on-black crime is worsening daily. It is very sad to see that we have made strides since the days of Jim Crow and the race riots in America, but we have not found a way, as blacks, in America to fight the escalating problem of black-on-black crime. Some have said that we have overcome white racism; therefore, we can overcome black-on-black crime. Many have blamed the enormously high crime rates, low education level, low socioeconomic standards on the fact that 400 years of racism has held us back. In a new study by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics, it has once again confirmed that almost half the people murdered in the United States each year were black and 93 percent of black homicide victims were killed by someone of their own race. For white homicide victims, the figure was 85 percent. Of the estimated 8,000 blacks murdered in 2005, more than 7,400 were murdered by other African Americans. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has said that blacks were six times more likely than white to be victimized by homicides and seven times more likely to commit homicide, even though African Americans account for just one-eighth of the U.S. population. I believe fervently that the collapse of the black family life will mean rising chaos and crime in the black community, as we are seeing today. Approximately 70 percent of black children are born out of wedlock and 60 percent are raised in fatherless households. Research has also shown that children raised without married parents and intact, stable families are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior.

This growing crime trend in the African American community is, indeed, a national tragedy because the majority of African Americans are law-abiding, hardworking individuals who want the very best for themselves and their children. As an African American living in a suburb of Atlanta, I am appalled at the high level of crime in the black community in Atlanta. On any given night during the local newscasts, one can be reasonably sure that there will be homicides and with a 99 percent certainty, those homicides were the result of black on black crime. When we moved to Alpharetta, there was hardly any crime reported on the news or in the newspaper, but as more people moved into the area, the crime statistics have changed. For example, one African American senior citizen, residing in College Park, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, was nabbed in Alpharetta, for trying to shoplift with his granddaughter inside a Fry's Electronics store. What was equally disturbing to me was the fact that College Park was at least 45 miles away. This man caught the train and then transferred to two buses in order to get to that store. The first murder committed in Milton, another suburb in Atlanta, was black on black crime. One cannot limit these problems to particular cities or states, it is nationwide and in cities where blacks reside and dare I say, international to a great degree. It is a painful commentary when I read that in 1993 Jesse Jackson said, "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage of in my life, than to walk down the street and hear footsteps...then to turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved." Sixty years ago, the white man was the enemy to many blacks because of racism, but today, I think the opposite is true. It is time for us to face the facts. This is the first step in overcoming black on black crime.

Washington Redskin star safety Sean Taylor lost his life due to black-on-black crime. Four thugs, Charles Wardlow, Eric Rivera, Venjah Hunte and Jason Mitchell have been charged in the botched burglary attempt at his Miami estate. All four have been charged with unpremeditated murder in Taylor's death and the police have said that the killing was unplanned because the perpetrators did not believe that Taylor was home. The men were also charged with armed burglary and home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon. Taylor was shot when he surprised them. Authorities have said that they have received more than one confession to the crime. According to Lee County Sheriff's office records, all four suspects have prior arrests. Wardlow, 18, was arrested twice for selling marijuana and once for grand theft of a vehicle. Rivera, 17, who calls himself "$MR. FLORIDA$" on his MySpace page and puts his income at $60,000 to $70,000, with a deep love of money, was arrested in October for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine and was previously incarcerated for altering the identification on a firearm. Hunte, 20, was arrested previously this year on drug and trespassing charges and Mitchell, 19, has been arrested twice, most recently in October on charges of driving with a suspended license and violation of probation. The Miami Herald reported Mitchell and Wardlow had connections to Taylor. Mitchell cut Taylor's lawn and did other chores at the house, Mitchell's twin brother, Scottie, told the paper. Taylor's sister, Sasha Johnson, dates Wardlow's older cousin Christopher, and Scottie Mitchell told the paper the couple invited Jason Mitchell to Johnson's birthday party within the past two months.

There is a deeper problem inherent in the fact that these young men have had to resort to a life of crime and at such a young age. Many have said that the fabric of the African American experience in America has been eroding since, as a people, we were denigrated by slavery so long ago. Though there may be a great deal of truth to that, I beg to differ. As an immigrant from Jamaica, there is a great deal of crime on the island too and blacks were never discriminated against on the island as they have been in the United States and crime is a horrific problem with escalating murder numbers. The case is true in South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and many other countries. It comes down, in great part, to the role of the family in shaping character and ability is so pervasive as to be easily overlooked. The family is the basic social unit of life in America and it is the basic socializing unit. Adult conduct in society is learned as a child. Statistics have said that there is a high rate of divorce in the African American community, along with separation and desertion, which has in part, led to many African American households being headed by females. It has been estimated that only a minority of African American children reach the age of 18 having lived all their lives with both of their parents.

I believe that black-on-black crime is much more than it seems on the surface that people are just cruel and indifferent to one another. The problem is too widespread through the world. Poverty and a lack of education play a great role in the grand scheme of things. We are living in a country in which there are so many opportunities for one to reach for the stars. You do not have to remain in poverty all your life. You have the capability to go to school and to better yourself, as long as you have the ambition and the determination to do so. We have to start taking responsibility for our behaviors and our responses. There have been many cases of racism in recent years that have manifested themselves in the United States, and though there is racism in the court and corrections systems, I believe that there are many people there because of the fact that they broke the law. You have to take responsibility for your actions and cannot continue to hide behind the stain of slavery and racism in America as the reasons for your behavior and lack of progress.

I am sure that the arrest of Sean Taylor's killer will provide little solace for his family, but his death will serve as a stark reminder that we have to do something to fight this insidious and destructive black on black crime that has been dogging us for so many years. Taylor's 18 month old daughter will never grow up with her father because he was so mercilessly gunned down. What a travesty to her that is!