Sept. 5, 2015
How Do We Make Life Matter?
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Our country has been experiencing a dramatic case of meanness of spirit and tragic deaths by law enforcement, as well as by citizens against each other—especially among young people. While the record will show there is no actual rise in crime in most places and no actual rise in police shootings or police being killed by citizens, the perception is there. Maybe most of us are just paying greater attention, and wondering how this can be.
The Black Lives Matter Movement has taken the lead in helping us to understand that a lot of people are dying needlessly, and we need change that helps to make life matter. Some have misinterpreted the Movement to mean that other lives don’t matter, but that is far from the truth.
The Civil Rights Movement was always about making things better for all. That is what the Black Lives Matter Movement is all about. If you listened to FOX News and other extreme conservatives, you’d get the impression that the Black Lives Matter Movement is the problem! From my perspective, the Movement is trying to resolve the problem.
Unfortunately, for too many people life just doesn’t matter. For others, we’re baffled! It seems that every day, we work our fingers to the bone trying to figure out not only how we get the police to stop killing our people—but, we worry about how to stop our young people from killing each other. Last Sunday, a young 13 year old child was shot multiple times as she tried to shield younger children from the violence in her area.
Does life matter for those who did the shooting in a neighborhood where children were playing? How can we make life matter to those who fire weapons without considering what happens to innocent by-standers?
In his book The Indigenous Black People, Dr. James McHenry discusses the criminal’s way of thinking. He says, “The criminal’s way of thinking is very different from that of the ordinary responsible citizen. Criminal behavior often begins in childhood. There is the prevailing myth that broken homes, poor parenting, single parent homes, alcoholism, poverty, peer group pressure, poor schools, drug addiction, unemployment, television violence, video-game violence, rap music, passionate impulses, genetic transmittals, etc. are the causes of crime. These social problems do have some influence on behavior. But all of these assumptions suggest that society is more to blame for crime than the criminal. This is not so!”
I agree with his position or how else do we explain young people who grow up with many of the conditions above, and go on to do great things in life?
Dr. McHenry makes another point about how hard some mothers try to keep their children on the right path in life—but with all of their efforts, many still grow up to be criminals. He said, “The fact is that the criminal chooses crime…crime does not choose the criminal. He chooses his associates, his way of life, the types of crimes he commits, and he rejects society long before society rejects him… Ask any mother who has cried herself to death because her child was incorrigible despite: her attempts to change him, her love for him, her prayers, her trust, and so forth. Once we understand why the criminal acts differently from responsible people, we can become reasonable, compassionate, and develop effective solutions.”
It’s time. If we want to help our children, we can’t wait until they become hardened criminals. We must be there for them early in their lives. We must teach them, show them a better way, and provide for their basic needs at school, in church and throughout the community. We must collectively help them before they become criminals.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is National President/CEO of the National Congress of Black Women. www.nationalcongressbw.org. 202/678-6788)