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Let’s not Give Other Folks Ammunition Against Us
- By Roy Douglas Malonson
- Published 10/7/2009
- Editorial and Opinion
- Unrated
Roy Douglas Malonson
Roy D. Malonson is publisher of the African-American News&Issues.
View all articles by Roy Douglas Malonson
Unlike the bigots who paint all of us Black folks with the same brush, I won’t let actions of a few, cause me to give up on the Black race. However, as most of us were taught in years past when we ventured out of our neighborhoods and crossed the proverbial tracks, “they” are watching. So it is with the eye of a veteran watchman on the wall, that I watched the video of Black teenagers beating each other before finally killing a 16-year-old Black, innocent bystander.
In Chicago, Illinois aka the “Windy City,” Derrion Albert, an “honor roll” student, from Christian Fenger Academy High School, identified by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) as a Turnaround School beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, was walking to a bus stop when he got caught up in a fight between two rival gangs. “Turnaround” simply put means Fenger has undergone extensive building renovations, curriculum and programming have been overhauled, and last but not least, a highly talented faculty and staff were hired. According to Principal Elizabeth Dozier, “We hereby renew and strengthen our commitment to the Fenger students, parents, and community. We have set high expectations for all of our stakeholders. We are counting on you to join us as we take Fenger High School to a new level.”
And Derrion was a part of that new committment. In a televised interview, his grandfather, Joe Walker, who raised him, said “Derrion has never been in a fight in his life ... He never raised his voice. Not in 16 years have I had one day of trouble.”
Derrion who was not only awarded for his grades, but also for his attendance, was kicked and hit with wooden planks by at least five teenaged thugs who kept attacking him although he was lying on the ground, defenseless. Four of them the time of this writing, were charged with first-degree murder: Silvonus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, Eric Carson, 16, and Eugene Bailey, 18, identified by the video captured on cell phones. According to authorities, 30 plus students died violently in Chicago the past school year. The fight that swept Derrion up, stemmed from a shooting the day before, involving students from different neighborhoods.
The clash, or whatever you want to call it, was just plain stupid. I heard someone say, “At least they didn’t have guns,” and that shows how stupid society is becoming. Dead is dead, whether or not it happens by gun, knife, brick or board.
It reminds me of the term “friendly fire,” which is used to “soften” the blow of the condolence message delivered to family members of the military when they are killed by their own unit or other fellow soldiers. And as crazy as this may sound, Derrion was killed by “friendly fire.” Not that he knew the young gangbangers—according to all indications, he was in the wrong place at the right time—but when it comes to the Black race, we must realize that in America, we are on the same side.
Sure, some of us might have a “nickel over a dollar” more that some of the others, but as President Obama is experiencing first-hand, you can rise to the highest seat of power in the world, and still there are people who won’t let you forget what you are. When polls on popular sites like Facebook make it possible to ask if President Obama should be killed, (not impeached, but outright murdered) when pastors preach hate from their pulpits and when radio demagogues spew such hatred over the airwaves, it’s past time for us to realize that we need to ban together.
According to the Black on Black Crime Coalition, “While African-Americans comprise 13.5 percent of the U.S. Population, 43 percent of all murder victims in 2007 were African-American, 93.1 percent of whom were killed by African-Americans.” These stats lead credence to the theory of other races that we are monkeys and baboons.
Doing stupid things like killing innocent bystanders in stupid gang wars, put fuel on the fire and give ammunition to our enemies to use against us. Unfortunately, for a few minutes in time, that makes them right.
In Chicago, Illinois aka the “Windy City,” Derrion Albert, an “honor roll” student, from Christian Fenger Academy High School, identified by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) as a Turnaround School beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, was walking to a bus stop when he got caught up in a fight between two rival gangs. “Turnaround” simply put means Fenger has undergone extensive building renovations, curriculum and programming have been overhauled, and last but not least, a highly talented faculty and staff were hired. According to Principal Elizabeth Dozier, “We hereby renew and strengthen our commitment to the Fenger students, parents, and community. We have set high expectations for all of our stakeholders. We are counting on you to join us as we take Fenger High School to a new level.”
And Derrion was a part of that new committment. In a televised interview, his grandfather, Joe Walker, who raised him, said “Derrion has never been in a fight in his life ... He never raised his voice. Not in 16 years have I had one day of trouble.”
Derrion who was not only awarded for his grades, but also for his attendance, was kicked and hit with wooden planks by at least five teenaged thugs who kept attacking him although he was lying on the ground, defenseless. Four of them the time of this writing, were charged with first-degree murder: Silvonus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, Eric Carson, 16, and Eugene Bailey, 18, identified by the video captured on cell phones. According to authorities, 30 plus students died violently in Chicago the past school year. The fight that swept Derrion up, stemmed from a shooting the day before, involving students from different neighborhoods.
The clash, or whatever you want to call it, was just plain stupid. I heard someone say, “At least they didn’t have guns,” and that shows how stupid society is becoming. Dead is dead, whether or not it happens by gun, knife, brick or board.
It reminds me of the term “friendly fire,” which is used to “soften” the blow of the condolence message delivered to family members of the military when they are killed by their own unit or other fellow soldiers. And as crazy as this may sound, Derrion was killed by “friendly fire.” Not that he knew the young gangbangers—according to all indications, he was in the wrong place at the right time—but when it comes to the Black race, we must realize that in America, we are on the same side.
Sure, some of us might have a “nickel over a dollar” more that some of the others, but as President Obama is experiencing first-hand, you can rise to the highest seat of power in the world, and still there are people who won’t let you forget what you are. When polls on popular sites like Facebook make it possible to ask if President Obama should be killed, (not impeached, but outright murdered) when pastors preach hate from their pulpits and when radio demagogues spew such hatred over the airwaves, it’s past time for us to realize that we need to ban together.
According to the Black on Black Crime Coalition, “While African-Americans comprise 13.5 percent of the U.S. Population, 43 percent of all murder victims in 2007 were African-American, 93.1 percent of whom were killed by African-Americans.” These stats lead credence to the theory of other races that we are monkeys and baboons.
Doing stupid things like killing innocent bystanders in stupid gang wars, put fuel on the fire and give ammunition to our enemies to use against us. Unfortunately, for a few minutes in time, that makes them right.