By Dr. Stephanie E. Myers, National Co-Chair,
Black Women for Positive Change
Click here for more blog posts from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.
Click here for more blog posts from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.
Last
year, during the 2015 Week of Non-Violence, Black Women for Positive
Change (BW4PC), asked youth what they thought were some of the causes
of violence affecting their communities. We wanted to get their
firsthand opinions about the pathways that lead to physical violence,
domestic violence, gang violence and one-on-one confrontations. We
wanted to know why they get into fights, gangs and confrontations.
To
facilitate our discussion, we convened a “Youth Speak: We Listen:
Town Hall Meeting,” in Pittsburgh, PA., in collaboration with
Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay; BW4PC Pittsburgh Chair Diane
Powell; Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak. A diverse group
of 125+, mostly African American high school and college age youth,
ages 14-24, joined the discussion in the auditorium at Allegheny
Community College, in Pittsburgh. Other invited participants were
elected officials, faith leaders, parents, teachers and law
enforcement officials.
Our
opening question was, “What do you think are the causes of violence
in your school, community or family?” We expected answers of
police abuse, poverty, bad housing, bad schools, etc. Instead, the
youth responded, “The adults in our lives! Many of the adults in
our lives are negative and their negatively leads us to create
violence against our classmates, siblings and in our communities!”
Some of their examples were:
- “Adults don’t like their spouses”;
- “Adults don’t like their neighbors”;
- “Adults are unemployed, or don’t like their jobs”
I
was very surprised to hear the answer from the youth that the adults
in their lives are the problems, that contribute to violence. I
expected them to say it was their peers, or gangs or police. But,
when I consider the U.S. divorce rate of 46% the youth may not be far
off…I guess the statistics show that many adults don’t get along
with spouses.
And,
when you consider the impact of gentrification
in U.S. cities where whites are moving into predominately Black
neighborhoods and don’t speak or interact with the residents who
were there before they got there, this can create anger. Plus, the
export of millions of U.S. jobs overseas has left many Black American
adults unemployed and underemployed and this can lead them to express
anger, depression and job dissatisfaction.
As
we listened to the youth complain, we noticed that most of them were
well groomed, well dressed and articulate so, it appeared that their
parents were around and caring for them. And, while I admit some
parents are negative, I must speak up for millions of hard-working
parents and adults who try to give their children and youth, the best
they can. However, it cannot be denied that the students at our Town
Hall meeting felt the negative attitudes of adults in their lives
contributed to violence. They felt the adults put lots of pressure on
them and this caused them to be short-tempered, and get into random
fights.
In
order to address a perceived problem of negativity, youth and adults
must take responsibility for walking down the pathways that lead to
trouble. Neither group can blame the other for all of the bad
decisions that are leading to violence. Consider the following:
- In some of the largest U.S. urban centers, almost 50% of Black males drop out of high school. It has been documented that the decision to drop out often leads to gangs, drug-dealing, burglaries and violent crimes.
- 1 out of 4 students report being bullied during the school year. The decision to be a bully often leads to fighting and violence. (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015)
- 70% of African American males who are in prison dropped out of high school. Dropping out is a documented pipeline to prison, often leading to violence. (https://www.brookings.edu/research/ten-economic-facts-about-crime-and-incarceration-in-the-united-states/)
We
adults must look in the mirror and recognize the negative impacts we
have on youth from divorces, lack of employment, lack of money and
interpersonal conflicts. Yes, those behaviors probably do create
environments that foster youth anger and violence…and the price is
too high. On the other hand, youth who bully classmates, drop out of
school, get arrested for shop-lifting and burglaries and become gang
bangers, can’t expect the adults in their lives to stand by and
watch them self-destruct.
If
today's youth and adults want to live in neighborhoods of peace and
prosperity they must work together. Adults and youth need to sit down
and explain how they are feeling and the challenges they are facing. It’s up to all of us to “Change the Culture of Violence” and it
starts with each individual. If adults and youth work together in
families, churches, schools, neighborhoods and with law enforcement,
the violence can be stopped.
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