There have been only a few things that have happened in our locale that have captured my attention and have disturbed me as much as the recent violence and slayings of youth killing youth. Due to the fact that most of the violence and killings have been perpetrated by African Americans against African Americans, I know most of the youngsters who have been involved in the violence and slayings, either directly or indirectly through their parents or grandparents. Out of some very serious talk with my wife about these senseless killings and some very deep contemplation about the issue, I felt compelled to address the matter in my column today. Also, one of the primary reasons why I decided to write this piece today stemmed from a talk I recently had with a young man. I was very encouraged when he told me that he reads my column in The Herald. The fact that he was a part of the young men, who help to comprise the group that gather each day at this certain spot on Dargan Street in Newtown, who are up to no good, was very moving to me. The last I heard from him, he had gotten a decent and legitimate job and is now a part of the solution and not the problem. Though I dare not take credit for his drastic change (for the better), I would like to believe that reading my column had perhaps, in some way, contributed to his decision to get a job and get on the right road.
Why are so many of our young men violent? Why is the murder rate among African American youth in our locale proportionally worse than it is in Chicago, Illinois? Sometimes, I feel like we are going in circles to explain the cause for the problem that exists among our youth. However, without first identifying the cause from which the problem springs, we will never arrive at a solution. At the very core of the problem of violence and murder among African American youth is the failing of parents. Do not get upset with me because of that statement, in which much scientific study and statistics have proven to be true. Though there are exceptions to the rule, the facts speak for themselves: children who are reared in a home where they receive discipline at an early age are less likely to be lured into gangs, drugs, crime, and violent acts. I have both my father and mother to thank for keeping me and my brothers on the straight and narrow. My mother’s prayers and my father’s belt kept me out of much mischief and trouble when I was growing up as a headstrong and rambunctious young man.
The problem in African American culture is greatly exasperated since seventy percent of the children are being brought up without their fathers in the house. The absence of fathers or male role models is a major part of the problem of violence that is reaching epidemic proportions among young African Americans. Another contributor to the problem can be attributed to the negative influence of the entertainment world. Can any of us deny that certain types of music and movies have conditioned and predisposed many African American youth to pursue a life of crime, drugs, and violence? Most reputable social scientists, like psychologists, sociologists, and all other behavioral specialists, concur to the belief that repeated viewing and listening to movies and music that is contaminated with violence and murder will ultimately develop an insensitivity and disregard for human life. The fact that there is such violence and murder among our youth is the greatest proof to the point we are making here. Another primary reason why there is such widespread violence and disregard for human life among far too many African American youth can be attributed, to a great degree, to a lack of ambition, planning, and preparation that must be done in the early stages of their lives. I have made it a practice to ask children, as young as five years of age, what do they plan to be when they grow up? My purpose for doing this is to get them to thinking about their future because before they realize it, they will be seniors in high school. They will be young adults and except they have planned and made preparations for the next stage of their lives, they will most likely fail or end up working on some dead-end job that they hate with little opportunity for advancement. An even worse scenario awaits the ones who become idle, shiftless, and by their own choice, unemployed. These are the ones who are most likely to be lured into the gangs, drug trafficking, crime, and violence. The old adage that says, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail”, is certainly true in the lives of many of the young men (as well as women), who will not take advantage of the educational opportunities that are theirs for the taking, if they are willing to study and take their education seriously. This serious approach and discipline must start in grade school and be continued throughout the middle and high school stages of a student’s life. If they wait until their middle and high school years to get serious about their education and studies, it is almost too late for most of them, who regrettably will never recover from the penalty of procrastination. Perhaps at the very core of why we are experiencing such violence and murder among our youth can be attributed to bad company. What I just stated may be old news. Certainly, you have heard it before. Nevertheless, it is a fact of life that the company one chooses to hang out with will either decrease them or increase them. Furthermore, the sayings that state, “Birds of a feather flock together” and “If you hang out with dogs, you are going to catch flees” are more than just wise sayings. They have proven time and time again to be facts and truthful. I have watched and witnessed many young people, who failed to adhere to the principle of watching the company they kept, who are in jail and some who died tragically and prematurely.
I do not know if I have included the particulars that are adversely affecting our young men and women and therefore, predisposing them to a life of crime, drugs, violence, and worse. Whatever the case, I hope that I have sound an alarm to a serious problem that exists among far too many African American youth concerning violence and murder. As always with me as a staunch believer in Jesus Christ, I believe that there is an answer and remedy to the almost pandemic problems that we are facing concerning our youth. Somewhere in the Bible, the inspired and inerrant Word of God, there is an answer. I am certain and hold to the unshakable belief that when God’s people pray and be persistent about what they are praying about, He will, in His time and way, give the appropriate answer.
These words of the great John Wesley are both timely and timeless to use as a conclusion: “For God does nothing, but as an answer to prayer.”