She was young. She was pretty. Her life was cut short with no plausible explanation for her untimely death.
Pvt. LaVena Johnson is the first female soldier from Missouri to die in the Iraqi invasion. This distinction does not quell the dubious circumstances of her death. Her family has called for an investigation, but the armed forces live by deception, which will make getting to the bottom of her death nearly impossible.
Johnson’s voluntary sign-up bucked a trend among black youth. Black volunteers in the U.S. military have dropped dramatically – almost in half – since 2000. Youth Poll reported that African Americans were less supportive of U.S. troops’ presence in Iraq and more disapproving of the Bush administration’s handling of foreign affairs than their white or Hispanic counterparts.
Further research has shown that the sales job for recruiters must be at the parental level of black families, where strong resistance to the war is harbored. In short, black folks weren’t down for the cause, especially if it meant sacrificing life and limb.
Recruiters are now in desperado mode. The Army has hired 1,000 new recruiters and unleashed them into communities of color. They are luring recruits with offers of phat sign-up bonuses, college tuition payments and much more. Even in a depressed economy, when unemployment rates are highest among young black males, they just aren’t taking the bait.
The No Child Left Behind Act makes it easier for recruiters to track your child down. It entitles recruiters to names, addresses and phone numbers of high school juniors and seniors – here’s the little-known catch – unless parents sign to withhold that information. Between the unfettered powers of recruiters and their despicable strategies, black youth are being hunted down like delectable prey.
In one situation, a persistent recruiter’s calls to the house finally resulted in a mother not answering the phone. The recruiter “kidnapped” the son and had him sign enlistment papers. The mother had to resort to legal action to undo the enlistment. In a local situation, one recruiter was hounding a young, attractive high school senior. The mother came home unexpectedly during work to find the recruiter in bed with her daughter. If either of these was my baby, you’d be reading about me in the Evening Whirl!
Black parents are fighting back. A group in San Bernardino, CA has filed a suit to bar the military from high school campuses. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case this year. Others are joining anti-war or counter-recruitment formations to express their opposition to a war that was started under false pretenses. Meanwhile, these predators are on the prowl to meet their enlistment goals by any means necessary.
I sincerely hope the family of LaVena Johnson gets a reasonable explanation of her death. And I hope black parents stay vigilant in protecting our children from the combat zones in Amerca as well as in Iraq.