When the problem is us

By Edmund W. Lewis
Editor

The most recent rash of shootings, armed robberies and murders that have claimed the lives of hard-working, law-abiding people, injured children and created orphans is another stark reminder that conditions in communities of color won’t improve until we say “Enough is enough!” and summon the resolve needed to reclaim our families and communities.

It’s not enough to shake our heads or become momentarily upset when we hear about another senseless murder in New Orleans. We have to find a way to get involved and engage others who share our concerns and values in finding long-term solutions to this problem that threatens our very existence.

I remember feeling frustrated several years ago when I learned of the murder of a 28-year-old man who was gunned down in the parking lot of the Walgreens drugstore at the corner of Robert E. Lee Boulevard and Elysian Fields Avenue by three unidentified men. I remember it like it was yesterday. The incident troubled me and left me with more questions than answers about the future of Black New Orleans.

While I become upset every time a young life is senselessly ended or some innocent toddler is shot in a drive-by, I am grateful that I have not allowed myself to take these murders for granted. There is, after all, nothing natural or normal about what is happening on the streets of New Orleans.

While I didn’t know the name of the victim or the names of those he left behind, all of these people ran through my mind that fateful day as I thought about how many times this scenario is played out in the streets. Despite the efforts of many leaders and groups to end the senseless violence that has claimed many lives of young Black men, women and children over the years, the bloodshed continues.

There is no silver bullet that will end this culture of violence to an end. We need to think long and hard about the root of the problem and acknowledge the fact that self-hatred and nihilism play a role in the scourge of violence that continues to plague the city. Oppressed people often lash out at one another because those who look like them are a constant reminder of the conditions under which they are forced to live. Before integration, Black folks turned to one another during difficult times and not on one another. That has changed with middle-class flight from many major cities and stiff competition for scarce public and private resources.

Violence can take many forms including economic violence, social violence and educational policies that have taken a major toll on communities of color.

Seeking an end to the violence that continues to rage while sanctioning the siphoning of public school funds by charter schools, the demolition of Black communities to make room for major development projects, the mass incarceration of young people of color and the exclusion of Black and Brown businessmen from the economic arena will only serve to make a dire situation worse.

Stopping the violence and helping young people to find a reason to live are but two of the challenges the community faces. We must also find the courage, resilience and resolve to face a host of challenges that threaten our very existence. In that spirit, I offer a poem I wrote a while back titled “The Problem” that I hope will at least begin to move our minds and spirits in the right direction. May the Creator and the Ancestors show us the way out of the madness and chaos that are threatening to consume us.

Brothers and Sisters, /if you’re out there/buying, using and selling crack, /refusing to read to your children, /sitting around waiting/for somebody to come and free us, /lying, cheating and stealing, /disrespecting and degrading/or allowing others to disrespect and degrade/our mothers, sisters and daughters, /consuming but never producing, /destroying instead of creating, /judging people by what they own, wear or look like, /robbing, stabbing, murdering and looting, /trippin’ on anyone trying to do something positive, /criticizing without remedying, /reacting instead of acting, /putting your selfish needs and greed above everyone else in the community, /refusing to even recognize that there is a Black community, /worrying more about getting your hair together/than getting your head together, /buying TVs instead of books, /refusing to do something every day to change your situation for the better, /using the fact that we don’t make guns as an excuse to not get involved, /claiming to be anything and everything but Black, /providing poor examples of Afrikan men and women, /filling yourselves with mental junk food, /supporting businesses that don’t support us, /refusing to register to vote, /refusing to exercise our right to vote, /refusing to fight for your right to be, /bowing to fear and adversity, /abusing and exploiting our children and elders, /worshipping alcohol and other false gods, /refusing to let your light shine,/hating and resenting other people for their success,/refusing to reach back and help others,/doing absolutely nothing for anyone, including ourselves,/tearing down Sisters and Brothers who are trying to lift us up,/ spreading lies instead of love,/giving your bodies to anyone and everyone,/saying and doing nothing when you see injustice,/discarding your history like an old pair of socks,/refusing to take the time to love yourselves,/sleeping with other folks’ wives and husbands,/looking down your noses at the poor, uneducated and homeless,/forgetting about the Brothers and Sisters behind bars,/laughing at, hoping for and celebrating the failure of others,/forgetting that faith without works is dead,/settling for less than you deserve,/pointing out other folks’ shortcomings while covering up your own,/in short, working hard at being a detriment to the Afrikan community,/you are not part of the problem/you are THE PROBLEM.

This article originally published in the October 19, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.