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African-American males in Detroit between the ages of 15 and 24 are dying at a rate that is roughly seven times higher than the rest of the Detroit population. If they were dying at the same rate as everyone else, there would be one death every three weeks. Instead, there are two black men dying every single week.
This has set off alarm bells within the Detroit Police Department, which has taken heavy criticism for its policing of the black community. Their most recent embarrassment was the shooting of 7-year old Aiyana Jones during a police raid. But the Chief of Police, Ralph Godbee Jr., is concerned about black men killing one another.
A 2009 report by the FBI chronicles the growing national trend of black male homicide. According to the report, a black male was about six times more likely than a white man to be a victim of homicide. Although black males account for only 7 percent of the Detroit population, they constitute 25 percent of the homicides.
Recently, I wrote about how prominent black scholars, such as Dr. Julianne Malveaux, are speaking up on behalf of the suffering of Detroit residents. The point here is that the suffering will not end until we allocate resources to stop the devastation. As of this moment, genocide of black men is contributing to the erosion of the black family. When a black boy is left uneducated by a decaying inner city school system, he is then unemployed and ultimately either the victim of murder or incarceration. Nearly half of all the black men in my family have either been to jail or come close to death.
Both our society and the black family have engaged in a creative partnership for the destruction and death of black boys, and it's time for that partnership to end. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama, both of whom happen to be black males, have the power to stop this.
Sure, it won't be easy, and it's difficult to care about black males without getting resistance from politicians who've been trained to hate them, but I am hopeful that black elected officials in Washington will gain the moral courage to take a stand on this important issue.
The black boys who choose to kill one another do not start off in the world as demons. The world demonizes us, and we respond accordingly. It makes us angry, bitter, marginalized and violent. When growing up in a world that doesn't accept you, you find yourself doing things you wouldn't normally do and caught up in situations you'd never envisioned for yourself. Believe me, I've been in this theater of life, with a front row seat.
Fix the schools, create youth programs, invest in mentorship. That is how the black male is going to survive.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (326)
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By: Joe on 9/26/2010 7:31PM
Stop with all your excuses. Many young blacks in the inner cities do not want to make anything of themselves because it would take some. School is
free so why dont they go. Colin Powell came from an inner school and he turned out better then alot of people. Why because he wanted to make something of himself and sit there and feel sorry for himself. If a person dosen't succed in this country its because he or she is lazy.
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By: clarke on 9/27/2010 8:42AM
Joe, SHUT THE HELL UP. YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. YOU GO INTO SOME OF THESE "FREE" INNER SHOOLS(YOU LEFT OUT THE WORD CITY, DUMB ASS) AND SEE WHAT IS GOING ON. THEY ARE NOT TEACHING A DAMN THING, SOME OF THEM. SOME OF THE TEACHERS LOOK DOWN THEIR NOSES AT THE KIDS AND WOULDN'T SEND THEIR OWN CHILDREN TO THE SCHOOLS THEY TEACH AT. AS FAR AS COLIN POWELL GOES HE WAS IN SCHOOL DAMN NEAR FIFTY YEARS AGO, AND HE MADE SOMETHING OF HIMSELF BY JOINING THE MILITARY, YOU DUMBASS.
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By: Commenter on 9/28/2010 12:51AM
Dr. Boyce, in another post (Regina King), you reminded us that the Emmy's were never created for black people. But here, you say, "fix the schools."
The schools weren't created for black people either...and a look at the history of desegregation of America's public schools shows us how reluctant many cities and states were to follow the directives of the Supreme Court post-Brown v. Board.
Would it be too much of a stretch to take your acknowledgment of Tyler Perry's accomplishments and consider what would happen if we did the same for education? What if just one black celebrity or rich/influential figure decided to start a small private school, and others followed suit...and hired black history teachers, music teachers, art teachers, coaches, etc?
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By: UJR on 10/01/2010 10:44AM
I notice the first comment is always from someone with a NEGATIVE point of view, and then there's a 'grocery list' of people following in behind 'him' with a response. Is this a setup? Why respond? Place your own comments. You can't stop that kind of crap! Don't follow behind him.
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By: UJR on 10/01/2010 10:58AM
I want to add we need our men be it entertainers and all walks of life to reach out to the community very quietly in a spiritual manner and show them what it takes to survive in this world. They are a rare species and they haven't been told and showed that and when your spirit is down and no goals in life you'll settle for anything and everything that's full of fluff is what they think they should go for. It takes a village to raise a child, but when law enforcement lives on the other side of town (there's no bonding there) they have no vested interest. When the parents or mother goes to church, they let the children choose if they want to stay at home and get some sleep or they are taking them to football practice on SUNDAY MORNING (no bonding there trying to get their relationship right with God). The teachers that DO care are so 'structured' in the bureacracy bull crap that has been given to them and if they teach the way they know is effective will be ousted! Too many games are being played and our children loose. And I've always told my children
They don't mind hurting 10 of theirs if they can hurt 100 of ours. Young men pull your pants up get involved in helping the younger boys and show them what your grandparents and others fought to earn and now you are subliminally being brainwashed to ignore and devour. Politicians and other leaders let some of the air out of your heads, take the ties and heels off and get with your people. Act like you did when you first ran for office, cause if we get out and vote you can be replaced. I stood in line outside my polling place ONCE! and now that he's in office get back to the polls on everything! Let someone explain to you before you go in what's best for your area and you. VOTE, they'll see they need to come and visit you instead of mailing a flyer. Let's
Save Our MEN everyday!
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By: robert on 10/19/2010 2:42AM
Just like all white people don't shave thier heads, wear swastikas or form militias, all black people don't engage in violent behavior and all black women don't have babies out of wedlock. Please, all of you closet racists, particularly Bill and Eric, at least do not generalize an entire people with your racist remarks. And you Uncle Tom black people - quit agreeing with these racists! My son, his friends, my family and their friends are not characterized by how you see 'blacks'. There are some blacks that have these negative characteristics, but just like all white people aren't supporters of the KKK, all black people don't engage in this negative behavior.
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