Columnist Bernie Hayes
This week’s column was supposed to celebrate the birthday of Malcolm X and the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown V. Board of Education decision. But instead I must once again focus on the killing and other forms of violence permeating our neighborhoods.
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, by declaring that state laws that established separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities.
Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP’s chief counsel (who was later appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967), argued the case for the plaintiffs.
On May 19, Malcolm X would be celebrating his 83rd birthday had he lived. El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, as he was known at the time of his death, was born Malcolm Little in 1925 and assassinated on February 21, 1965, in the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights, N.Y.
Both Marshall and Malcolm dedicated their lives to uplifting people of all races, but especially seeking justice and freedom for African Americans. This week we should be observing these historic events, but some households are mourning the deaths of their children or other loved ones who have been gunned down by thugs who have no respect for their history, their neighbors, their families or themselves. These atrocities have been largely perpetrated by black teenagers who regard guns as accessories.
There are some who believe that the black community is in a constant state of low-level warfare, because too often disagreements get settled with gunfire. The gun and gang culture is spreading, just as some of us predicted after watching movies such as Super Fly, Colors, Boyz in the Hood and these mini-movies called gangsta rap videos.
Because the guns, the drugs, and the gangs threaten and take lives predominantly in our community, it is hard to believe that most of us are yearning for peace and nonviolence.
The truth is that we are often our own worst enemies. Nationally, according to the U.S. Justice Department, blacks are six times more likely to be murdered than whites, and 94 percent of all black murder victims are killed by black people. It is the residents of these communities, almost all of whom are law-abiding, who are the ultimate victims. Why?
Why are we swamped with news of black teenagers murdering black teenagers? While no ethnic group or race is immune from violence, why do we seem to be more vicious and barbaric than anyone else, especially amongst ourselves? Did Thurgood and Malcolm sacrifice so much for this?
If we are to be prosperous as a people, then our children, including our young ladies, must learn to be more tolerant of one another, engage in more frequent dialogue to resolve problems, and embrace a spirit of pride and unity. Parents need to take back their neighborhoods. Regardless of what is politically correct, we must remember that if we spare the rod, we may lose the child.
Throughout his life, Marshall used the law to promote civil rights and social justice. Malcolm X viewed the survival and liberation of African Americans as one of the leading goals of his life. What would they do, say or think if they were here today to witness the madness in some inner-city neighborhoods, and recognize the people they tried to save are the chief victims of this wave of violence perpetrated by black criminals?
Rest in peace, Thurgood, and happy birthday, Malcolm!
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.