"Black Lives Matter" but we out here killing ourselves ...

Black people, especially in the United States, have been oppressed for so long and I fully support the fight for equality. However, how can we proclaim "black lives matter", when more black people are dying at the hands of their fellow black brothers and sisters than at the hands of any other race. How do we expect the world to take our lives and rights seriously if we by our actions show that we don't? Black people, especially black men and black boys are dying over post codes or zip codes, as a result of gang violence and other meaningless reasons.

The issues we face as a black community is not only external but also within our own community. By treating the lives of each other with little to no regard we are sending a message to other races that our lives are of no significance to us. Yes, I know we killing ourselves does not by any means give other races the right to join in killing us. But even if we were able to stop racial killings, wouldn't we still be dying at our own hands?

Black boys why are you in gangs, fighting issues that are not even your own, issues that came about before you were even born? These unjust killings are not always gang related, I have often heard on the news about how black men and women have killed each other in the most brutal of ways for other stupid reasons. Though we may be victims of racial abuse and inequality we are also our own biggest enemies. It's time for us to not only seek to address the external issues but the internal issues also. Look at the statistics, black on black crime is an issue that has significantly affected the black community for decades. According to an article by National Review:

From 2000 to 2015, the mean African American homicide-victimization rate, adjusted for age, was 20.1 per 100,000. That’s more than three times the Hispanic rate of 6.4 (despite disadvantages comparable to those of blacks) and over seven times the average white rate, 2.7. Moreover, as already noted, from 1976 to 2005, 94 percent of the killers of black murder victims were other African Americans.

Is self-hate so embedded in us that we can't help but kill each other? It's easier to point the finger at those outside of our community who are taking our lives and yes, they should be held accountable. However, we also need to take a look in the mirror and accept the harsh reality that we are also to blame for some of the problems within our community. You may ask how are we to blame? There are a few factors that contribute to the black on black crime rates we see today. Here are a few (in my opinion):

Popularity of baby mama culture

So many of our children are born out of wedlock, with non-existent fathers, which has in turn led to the rapidly growing baby mama culture. I am not saying that women are incapable of raising children, what I am saying is that in this day age, especially with the evils that children are being exposed to every day, children need a balance in their lives. By balance I mean that children need the active participation of both parents in their lives, the parental role is not supposed to be executed by one person. For black boys especially, I believe they need a kind of discipline that black mothers can't give them. So many black mums are raising their daughters and protecting their sons, although their intentions may be good, the outcome isn't always great. Additionally, as a female you may relate well to your daughter but not to your son because you have not been in his shoes and therefore cannot know what he is going through. Thus, because he doesn't have a father figure in his life, you may find that he'll start looking for one and more often than not in the wrong places. So please ladies and gentlemen if you intend to procreate, please only do so after marriage; you're not only saving yourselves but also your children!

Gang and crime culture

A lot of black children have at least one family member that is either incarcerated or currently engaged in criminal activity. This affects children growing up because it desensitises them to crime and they become unafraid of consequences brought about by crime. When children look at their family members and those around them, what they are potentially trying to grasp is what their future may look like, "what will I be when I grow up?". If they're in a family filled with criminals and ex-convicts, what is the likelihood of them breaking that deadly cycle? Yes, I know that some children grow up in the worst of environments but become successful in the future, but that is not the case for everyone.

While we're on the topic of gang and crime culture, let's talk about drill music, why do we have a whole genre of music dedicated to gang and crime culture? Why do we give criminals and ex-convicts a platform to promote criminal activity? When did that become the appropriate thing to do? And this issue, in my opinion, is affecting the black community the most. Most artists that operate within the drill genre are black and the majority of those who listen to drill are black. So here you have black criminals and ex-convicts glamorising their criminal lifestyles to young impressionable black teenagers, rather than discouraging from engaging in such activities. Why should we be shocked by the increasingly popular gang and crime culture in the black community, if this is what is communicated to them via YouTube, Instagram and other platforms. These drill artists incite violence, gang and criminal related activities through their lyrics, videos and social media posts causing young impressionable children to become desensitised to violent and criminal activities. I'm not saying that the black youth do not have a mind of their own, but just as you can be a product of your environment, I believe that you can also be a product of what you listen to.

There are so many other factors that contribute to the unjust loss of black lives, both internal and external. It's time for us as a community to take responsibility for some of the issues in our community, because let's be honest; not every issue is caused by the "man". Let us start having conversations with our children and looking for innovative ways to revive the black community. To be frank our previous methods of dealing with black on black crime, has in my eyes, done nothing to help the issue so we need a new approach and fast!