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Of. It. Keith Keith. Good evening I'm Bev Smith. Welcome to OPEN forum. A series of programs
designed to take a look at what's happening in our black community. And tonight we look at something that is literally tearing our communities apart. You might even say it's killing us. Black on black crime. Blacks killing blacks. What's the problem. Why have we turned on each other like lions feasting on a new captured prey. Why. Well maybe we can find out from the list of experts that we've invited from those in the audience and from you. First let's introduce you to our experts from right to left. We're delighted to have with us Dr. Glynn Pearson associate professor professor at the Department of sociology and anthropology at Howard University. Welcome to the show professor. Seated next to him right in the middle of the rows always between the two thorns gentleman Mario Conde a doctor who is the director of the Division of Child Protection. And this physician you do what. An acute hospital. We take care of children who are physically abused you know and so neglected children and children who are fed through the abuse and the gentleman Isaac
forwell Jr. Many of you may already know him he's the assistant chief of police for field operations at the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington D.C.. Gentleman and lady Welcome to the show. To find out why there is so much violence in America we've asked our correspondent for open forum to take us to the streets and perhaps to show us the vengeance and the violence and give us a better idea of what's going on in our community you'll hear statistics some that will shouldn't shock you. Come and join me as we watch violence in black America. Blacks on black crime. Blacks killing blacks. The night mail walk in psychopath talking. King of the jungle just the gangsters talk and live and live like a firecracker. Quick is my fuse and death is a death back. The colors I choose red or blue cause of blood it just don't matter suffer and die for your life with my shotgun scatters. You don't know me fool. You disown me. Cool I don't need your assistance social assistance any problem I got I just put my fist in my life is fine. But vine is life. Peace is a
dream reality is a night Mark colors my honor my colors my with my clothes upon me one soldier stands tall tell me what have you left me. What a black guy last night in cold blood my young brother got shot. Oh my God Jack. My mother's on crack. My sister can't work cause arms show tracks madness insanity live in profanity then some punk claiming that understandably give me a break. What world do you live in. Death is my segue guess my religion. There's been more than 100 homicides reported in the District of Columbia since the beginning of 1988. Many of those homicides were drug related. There are however many other factors which characterize some of these killings. Seventy seven percent of those homicide victims were male. Eighty percent of the homicides occurred between members of the same race and more than half of the black homicide victims were killed with handguns.
It's a slave mentality a mind that has been embedded in those blacks. They kill one another for centuries and they have been liberated free their minds from that condition. And it's something that you have to change your mind. Those blacks we have to as blacks said are free mentally heartfully have to change their minds so they won't kill one another and get that embedded slave condition out of their minds. If this current trend continues by the year 2000 urban American environment will be some of the most dangerous places on earth here in the district. Two homicides were actually committed over mere personal possessions. A sweatshirt and a boom box radio has the hopelessness turned to rage and has that rage found an outlet for expression and handguns especially the Saturday night special in the inner cities. There are as many people carrying handguns as
there are wearing designer brands of jeans and foot waves. I don't condone blacks killing blacks any more than I condone whites killing whites or any people killing any other people I think that with regard to the question of black on black crime I feel like it needs to be put in the context of what's happening in the country today that in fact the Reagan administration over the last eight years has had the most serious impact on the black community. And that when you look at it if we talk about what kind of crimes are happening in the black community there are crimes that are related to people not having jobs folks not having adequate access to health care any kind of insurance or decent education. Social scientists widely agree the factors that contribute to the disproportionately high figures for black on black homicide are many and varied. But these factors alone cannot account for the statistic which follows homicide is the leading cause of death for all blacks 15 to
24 year olds and the rate of death for black men of this age group is seven times higher than the overall national rate. Is there a link between youth guns drugs and the violence which seems to be growing at a rate for yond all reason or is this just another form of self-inflicted genocidal behavior that may cost us a generation of young black lives. The fact that there's a disproportionate amount of black on black crime is a tribute to the fact that black people have internalized inferiority and have internalized that feeling of inferiority and they do have poor self-esteem and poor self-image. And when you have self-hate in you to act out toward your own folks and that is the main factor why we have a disproportionate amount of black on black crime because of the self hate and the poor self-image and the internalization of inferiority complex a form of genocide in black America black on black crime a form of self help or self hate we should say is that right Professor Pearson.
Do we hate ourselves so much that we're turning on each other because of this hate. No I don't believe so. I I think we're being led to a misconception of some of those figures. We talk about the rate of black on black crime nationally black homicides 92 percent among black on black. But at the same time white on the sides are 88 percent white on white. So the black on black or the white on white is not abnormal. The number of homicides totally is abnormal and that's where the problem is not black on black out of white on white. Do you think it is a design then and if so by home to single out the bad black community as a mean violent community than others. I think there's always been a design or an effort to identify or to label some things. As being based on race. Without any evidence to support and I think that's what's happened here let's go before we talk to the doctor about what happens to the children let's talk to the police officer. And of course he's the
assistant chief of police. Isaac forwell forward Jr. chief he says that it's not that bad it isn't any different he meaning the professor of anthropology and sociology says that it's not that different than white on white crime that when you look at the numbers and compare Is it a normal behavior. But it seems to those of us who read the statistics who look at the crimes that they have increased that blacks are more violent than they have ever been to each other and that there are a larger number of blacks being killed. I'm not sure that you see that is not a problem. I think that you see that you try to put in some kind of context. If you look at nationally in 1987 there were 20000 murders in the United States. About 40 percent of them were black people that were murdered murdered by other blacks. I don't want to just say there's nothing you can find a variety of reasons why anything occurs from a policeman's perspective. All I know is that we see the carnage of bodies
and we see a great deal of violence. We've got 154 homicides in the District of Columbia so far this year. How many blacks. About 72 percent of my blood is really have 90 percent of the black but the number of black males in about 72 percent. Those are high figures. Are they higher than 1987. Are they higher than 86 Are they higher than 85. From your position as the assistant chief of police. Are you saying more blacks being more violent toward other blacks than you have in your experience before in my career I've never seen as many farms. Not only murders but the drastic increase in the sense that occur which is also a tremendous problem and we're seeing younger people involved with violence. Now I don't know all the sociological reasons why this is occurring but I am seeing more rounds in my 24 years more enforcement because we had for 300 home size issue. And if you look at the number of kneecapped shootings that occur in the District of Columbia something is wrong
with that something years. I'm not sure what it is but there are yes Beverly there is an increase. Yes. On this tape the gentleman said it's a matter of lack of self-esteem. We don't like ourselves we don't feel good about ourselves. I play devil's advocate for a moment and start with you Dr. Qanta. What do you mean we don't like ourselves Stokely Carmichael said Say it Loud I'm Black and I'm proud. We were feeling good about ourselves we wore da Shakey's we had our afros. What happened. I think that the problem of not liking ourselves is not a black problem per se. When we look at all the children who are being victimized and particularly children who are being victimized by the caretakers the parents we find that the number of parents who are abusing their children were abused themselves and as a result of your own victimization they never like themselves they don't know if you want to see how to act to
help their children they have learned about violently have internalized it and what they have learned even unconsciously with her children. So that it is embraced. The behavior. Yes but it's not specifically it's not specific to a particular group. So it is not a black problem. No it's a human problem. Now wait a minute folks if you disagree or agree raise your hand. I know how to come and get you OK. And by the way folks for those of you out in the audience if you want to get involved we have a telephone number and the telephone number Kelvin is telling us all of the science so I can see 6 3 6 5 5 5 7 6 3 6 5 5 5 7 4 5 5 5 8 6 3 7 5 5 5 7 or 8 and we'll get you involved for just a point for a moment. You're saying that it's not a problem that is particular to blacks but for a moment I'd like to forget all others because if you look at the Jewish
community it has reinforcement it constantly reminds itself of its existence in the world how it struggled with its monuments and its museums and there are reinforcements but what I don't see an America that is black today. Are these reinforcements no longer do we encourage our children to learn or to get ahead. So I'm not so much interested in the others as I am the low self esteem that I see in kids 2 and 3 and 4 years old who are black. Yes but when you look at the problem you see I would like to guard against actually butin a problem to one isolated cause you know it's just too simple to say that it's the brown problem because we see children I don't want to go back again to look at the world a picture but you do need to look at the world of picture. We see parents who victimize their children who are of our listeners. And when we are there to treat them those families we don't treat them as
a black family as a white family or a Hispanic family. Then your life isn't the same. You write We try to The Cure of the problem that's affecting that family unit chief. Well. I think we need to make sure we keep is that in some kind of context. Most black people don't go out and murder each other. Most black people don't get arrested. We're talking about a very limited group. They get involved in violence. Most of the homicides that occurred in District of Columbia are drug related. Turf wars folks fighting with each other over drugs and in and shooting each other and then you have course you have some domestic violence. But I think you've got to keep it in in some kind of context what concerns me is that increasingly we're finding more and more young people that are involved in violence. And this whole issue of values. When a young person can go out at the age of 16 and blow some of these brains out
and go home you go to sleep. Something is wrong with our value system. How come we don't have all these homicides in other. Western countries as I know know we have a lot of my ass in the world in the world. All right but listen I hear what Dr. Condi is saying I hear what you have said Professor. But let me tell you what my. Gut reaction is. That's nice and pretty what you're saying. But the fact is that them or used to be a time somebody help me out all I need is a grunt or groan OK. Used to be a time in the communities where you would hear about a murder or suicide and you would say well that's not us. Black people don't do that. And black people did not conduct that kind of behavior. There was a sense of pride. We did respect our elderly. What went wrong something has gone wrong to make us more violent toward each other than we have ever been before. What is it. I think you can say one common denominator that was not present years ago. Was the drug problem. And the chief said he's seen more
violence in the last year than he's seen in his time on the department. I think she would also say he's not seen nearly as much of a drug problem as he's seen in the last year or so. I think there's very closely associated. Unfortunately there are so many people affected by this whole idea and it's not a new idea. This phenomenon of people killing people but it is increasing among blacks and there are many people who've been victimized by this phenomenon and our community and this lovely lady here with me right now is one you may recognize her she's Mrs. Barbara Merryweather and Barbara your son was killed. Yes he was. How. Remind us he was killed the summer the 11th going to school what is radio BASIC on a boom box. We're the young man who killed them on drugs. Well far as we know they weren't. Was your son on drugs. No he wasn't. Had they had an altercation before Were they friends were they enemies.
No they never had all the cation they weren't friends they weren't enemies in fact the number one boy knew him because he was in his classroom but he didn't know him that well just saw him in a classroom. How do you explain that it's for or can you. No no drugs. See that's frightening though isn't it. Shouldn't have. Right now is that you are the experts and you can't explain why a young black man would kill another young black man for a radio. I think there's an answer. I think it's a very complex answer. And there is no one to answer that. There are many things that contribute to something like this. Start us understand and give me an example of one of the reason for education and for opportunity. People who feel I can't get any other way I'm going to get it this way. What do you think. I think that society has a lot to do with a whole lot of these birds. And because the reason why I say that is because I was raised in Washington and I've seen a lot of things go on in Washington and like were when I was coming up we didn't have this excuse me we didn't have this kind of stuff we didn't have murders
and things like that and we had they were very limited. But society had made it so the Persians today can barely take care of the kids. They can visit they can barely educate their children because everything has went up so high and you're working on your job you're working every day you do not meet. You do not get enough income to take care of your kids. A lot of people today are aware of fear. They weren't aware fair when I was coming up in addition to Columbia. Our parents were. My mother had nine children and my mother father had natural because I came from a perm a family with a mother and father. OK but sometimes I'm of the opinion Bless your heart that that's a cop out. Because in black communities mothers and fathers have always worked haven't say I can't hear you audience Haven't they always were and did they have rules and regulations that regardless whether they were in the home or not you follow those regulations. I can hear an audience say. That's right. OK so if that was the way it was then what has happened. What's happened to the parent. I mean despite the fact that
you have a child you're supposed to give them responsibilities aren't you audience. OK. Oh god I'm all excited now. That's what I want to see happen. All right let me tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to go to a break and when the Bev Smith Show open form returns we're going to go to the audience and all these hands waving and we're going to find out exactly why so many blacks are killing blacks don't go away. Who wants to. Oh my goodness how many on the right. I'm very buoyant. And I was worth a sit in on the risk and there it. Is sitting down on a van the last bus seat like this. This is the work of a real child. Who washed the metro system
belongs to all of us. Please don't ban Alaska busses. It just doesn't sit well with anyone. Miss Marla Gibbs for the National Caucus and center on Black Aged Well fortunate today that more and more of us live longer and longer. The National Caucus and center on Black Aged works hard to improve the quality of life for our seniors. We need you your clubs your church to organize any activity large or small to help the elderly live better lives. You know the only way you won't grow old is to die young. In CBA 14 24 K Street Northwest Washington D.C. 2 0 0 0 0 5 1. This. Will come up with the idea that local woman will be a success
to. The program as open forum. I'm Beverly Smith and this evening we're taking a look at a phenomenon at our community. Some say it's not that bad it's the same as it is and other communities and what we should be looking at is the broader picture we should be looking at people who kill people and not blacks killing blacks but I think that that's a serious issue that needs us to look closely at it don't you agree. Stand up. Good evening to you Mrs. Rice. Well you fry. My thought was on the parents when Barbara talked about going back to them a native Washingtonian and I to agree with you. We set rules when we were growing up. What you got today is kids have too many rights we don't have any rights the only rights we handle what our parents allowed you came home from school and you did your homework and you were in your house
at five o'clock but then if you were five minutes late you didn't get them and you didn't complain. It wasn't called Shilo No it wasn't Go tell your mama and your daddy. So what has been done now these kids know that if Daddy beats them if Mama cusses them they get on the phone and they're down man one on one and they scream to the phone and say I'm an abused child and every police in the city comes to your house and they lock you up when you should have killed this kid. That's what happens in the system to discipline from the parents. I did the system do it. Or are we here or do we did it with a much more all these bike ok in Montreux whether we want to admit it among the nine we marched with Martin we marched with Malcolm We marched with Stokely and we marched for all these rights and now we are paying the place because our kids disrespect us. Our kids know that we were there. Love you what were we doing back then we were born and we would do just what the love of my lady married a man named Larry and to me there they are dragged out into
the outside stuff. And they were innocent there was not you were going to them right into the camel in the United States is OK. I do remember the coffeeshops on what's now elegant but the real the real point is. That we did it and so let's hear thank you very much now everyone knows what you did I'm not going to give you agree or disagree all you have to do is hold your hand up please on our panel our guest please join right in. And for those of you out there you can join in when you're down 6 3 6 5 5 5 7 4 6 3 6 5 5 5 8. Let's go to the phone so low how are you. So let's take say you had a question you had a comment. Everyone stand up. All right I'll say outstanding and everything like that. First of all I would like to say that there's no other culture that ever happens study where you have up to you as an anthropologist here that didn't have some form of affidavit siak were usually what you call a
good high or something. So what I'm saying is that you know I can't see it as being a problem with you know it's just some sort of happy days agone society I'm sorry blaming it on drugs. I'm Madeleine Brand on groceries when I say that that's where the whole problem is and I am saying that the profit that's in drug at the prom. But now we go back piggybacking on what you were saying about stopping with the whole up to the black and I'm proud theory and would have if we would just like grab ourselves about the bootstraps and tried to assert some of our dignity to have been stripped from us. In the previous year. So I'm saying that when the the when the when without a sailor what happened with the 60s the society's tallest sort of took the position that well we will go along with the system you know saying like you've got to have education or you know to get here and then what happened was when we started going to school and we started going out of school and found out that you know the whole educational system where you had had or have to have a ninth or 10th grade education you could get a job. I have never had to have a battle degree
and then you start have a have now have a higher degree. Does that excuse the behavior of of of what other of the problem you say is it isn't drugs it doesn't you're not willing to blame it all on drugs and if it was poor education does that excuse the behavior because during slavery time when people were denied their right to read and could get killed for it they tended to stick together more to be better at United with each other. But I'm saying we love our field and we enter into the factories or what have you. We were put in there we were like out of cork out pulled it out of the field into an environment where we had to maintain a job or we had to start looking to a higher level of understanding so someone you think were trapped there now and we were trapped there is OK. OK thank you for your comments I know some of you have such. Let's take a try another phone call. Hi you're an open form Good evening. Hello. Let's try another line. Hi you're in open form how do you feel about what you've been listening to.
Yes how are you tonight. I'm fine how are you. I'll try on it. Right I'm feel is that people spend their life just trying to surprise you when you don't have any family you. Have family crossness because you're so busy just struggling to make it from one day to the next. There is no time for culture. There is no time for. Family unity because everyone is out there just trying to live trying to get from one day to the next. And life is a very key thing it's been OK. And it is cheap it's $5 it's a radio but I don't know I don't know. Thank you dear. Thank you keep watching high stand a police. Evening. There are as a lot that one has to look at. But it could in a short mainly is to fear fear what the
fear of guard in our community has brought all is upon us. Fear of God and fear of his fear of not recognizing him. There are certain things as a human being hurt not only because I'm a black man I'm hurt because people who say that they believe in God do otherwise other than what they're supposed to be doing for the church and the church and the community society. There are people who claimed that they believe in God that they turn a backs. I rode the bus two weeks ago as a God fearing man and I interjected to a man who was harassing a young woman that was sitting next to me and he was talking so loud that the bus driver and other people other 40 passengers could say something to him. Everybody went mute. The bus driver should have been the first person as an authority on that bus to say I'll stop this bus. No one on this bus will get harassed no matter what color they are. No one said anything. I spoke up. I was injected with fear because no one else said anything. I would give my life. Hear me.
I would give my life for my wife my kids and my community. If they do not do what they're supposed to do I believe you. I really do believe that you know. It's not just your family and you know. A cool word of caution and I think they're proud of what we're attempting to do in our frustration is to find very simple answers for very complex problems. We can say that. Our. The sacramental believing God has something to do with warrior. There may have something to do with it may have may have something to do with values. We're talking about families erosion of families. We don't have a process for delivering value babies having babies that are single parent families but there are thousand different reasons. I don't think you can have someone as I think you are frustrated by the idea that people kill people. I mean especially black people killing black people. You said it we're trying to look for simple answers but you see sometimes I think we study to study to study to study to learn our that's not my point.
OK what do you say to study mark 20 years that we need to recognize that this thing will not go away overnight. It did not crop up overnight and it is going to be we're in this for while. I mean it's not going to go away. I don't when I say that I don't think that we ought to feel into negative things to make us believe that black people live out of hate as it forward at all. I don't hate my family at all. As a black person I'm a proud black individual and I feel good about me and I feel good about other black people and I'm absolutely on target here. A bunch of negative things that make us seem like we're the worst people in the world we're not OK. We all feel that way of hopefully a no no wait we love him anyway. Let me let me finish my point. We would hope that everyone in this audience would feel that way but the reality is that when you walk into a high school as I have and you sit down with young black kids in an audience and you talk to them as I have and you run workshops on self-esteem as I have and you ask these kids do you like yourself. What would you rather be. They rather do what Michael
Jackson did drain all the color out of their skin and be someone else. There's something gotta be wrong with it and if we sit and we talk about it and talk about it and talk about it and say there is no way to resolve the problem is bigger than us. Maybe the way to resolve the problem is not really to debate with you but I will make the mosque nomination has been read. And I've been at my school every year twice and I don't mean his new talk about the one of Michael Jackson. I have real life. OK I don't feel bad. OK I don't know I'm sorry I let everybody chill out. Probably I think well take some out of it. All right. Hi Carol how are you. I think that all of them who you are. I'm Carol Schwartz a member at large member of the D.C. City Council and glad to be participating this evening. But I think when we look at crime in general and I don't think of it as we was discussed earlier is black crime or white crime and we've got crime out there and we've got scary things going on out there. And I don't think there are easy answers and I think you know you can blame the you know the judiciary system that people aren't punished enough you can
blame the lack of education you can blame child abuse but I think one of those things that you can blame and I don't claim to be an expert and I don't claim to have all the answers but I see the demise of the family. I see television. Now here I'm stuck on a television show talking about television but I think where you can see from the time you were two years old one year old people being blown away on these television shows. I think the the value of life becomes minuscule as you watch people you know when you're entertainment is watching people being blown away. I thank You that is one of the kind I do. I think it's a big contributor and I also think that that family television not only the violence that appears on it and I'm not for censorship I do think families so should direct their children of what should be seen and not seen or if it is watched to say that our values are this. This is a movie. This is a show this isn't real life we value life. And unfortunately so many people are spending their
time staring at the television that they don't talk as families. They don't. How is your son and daughter. What are your problems what can I do to help you every I can remember and this was a white family back in Midland Texas coming home from college. They had not seen their daughter in like six months we drove in together and I let her off at her house. We walk into our house parents. Father by the way was superintendent of schools in that small town walked in the house hadn't seen their daughter in six months and she walked in said hi mom and dad her father said she. He was watching television. Now I think that has has had a lot of country contributing factors to the problems we have today and I think that you don't do away with television but you try to one monitor it and you try to take time as parents to talk to your children to give them direction. Thank you Carol. You had your hand up didn't you. You didn't have your hand if you had your hand up let's hear from the little ones and then we'll go right to the police I want you to stand up for me hi who are you.
The subject of the hurricane preparedness I saw her I was like I said I think you know we talk about all the young teenagers killing each of the young black tonight I think is they think they look at again the gun issue is about as a way of getting respect or like the easy way out they don't like want to fight so I think hey I get a gun to shoot him and they do it a couple times like you know Norm so these people kill each other. Nominal lady and I have to. Why would they look at getting a gun. And shooting at someone killing them as a means of getting respect because you know I mean again it's goes into drugs and things so you know like I've been online and off I don't go through this fine right then you say I mean I don't want to mind I'll just shoot him if he did a fan it is that's what I found as a get a gun to shoot at me. Accord to circle where you quote the sucker way I suppose. Yes. To me I think the major
problem with us killing each other because you know tough enough. If I go out and kill somebody or if I gotta sell drugs and then only when I go into court for a couple months and I'm back on the street you know then I can you know I can keep getting over like that and into for a certain amount of time city of the laws were tough and then people would be doing their kids know how easy it is to get. Yeah I mean they can do they know everything there is no because because if ever if I know I keep getting over that I must just keep you know just going to get in trouble and then when I get 18 then I don't worry about young. They don't have to worry about I'm gone kill as many people as I want. I know most I can do anything about tell me before I go to the police to ask about what you say because that's awfully scary. I mean if it doesn't bother you that you can kill me and not suffer from it. No wonder we're so violent. What are you afraid of let me throw some things out to you and you tell me you're speaking for all teenagers I know that's hard to do. OK all right. Are you afraid of parents. I don't frame my parents. But what about kids in general. I think I think most people respect their parents but are they
afraid of them you know are they afraid of the school system. No no. Are they afraid of the police. You know I mean because I mean I mean I mean just think about it if I can carry in a police officer 38 who's on with you know either you're free. It see if you can always you know you talk about I mean it which at my last place like OK you good idea time you know in you you know you're back on the street you know how you doing you know anything like that. But I mean he's I'm a real jail that's always something different. If you're young and I seem to those places where you are they afraid of dying some some some people say they're not but deep down inside they are getting ready to get your platform we did a good job. We're delighted to have you with us introduce yourself you are and Dr. Smith I'm a detective with the Imus said you know D.C. Police Department. Do you have to keep the statistics for the people who die along the way. That's done through our office. And so far how many young black men have died.
Roughly we have one hundred and fifty four homicides this year. And I believe out of that number somewhere around 70 I think a 70 or 80 were young black males gunshot a large majority were gunshot related. Most of them drug related. I would say roughly about 60 percent. Is it more violent to you than what you're seeing on the street than ever before you've been listening to the conversation and you're here it's been moving What do you think. I think one point that we really get into and that's the economics and I think that one one one heavy part of the problem when you think that. Young people. In this day and time have become. Financially dependent. Of their parents. You have young people 15 16 17 years of age who basically have made payments on cause a lot of the Living with with other young people 18 to 20 years of age
and and the independence comes as a result. The economics associated with drugs when you have a 60 percent of crimes homicides are job related. And you take that number and you recognize the fact that a large majority of the young people that are involved in those homicides they're directly involved in the distribution. And the consumption of drugs and said thank you very much this is a very sad picture. One final question. You said that the children are dependent independent of their parents but who puts them there. Well I think pretty much when you talk about what puts him out there. When you're out there on the corner and school there's a number of groups and a number of different situation that you come into and contact with as a young person and I think basically the the negative groups the negative situations that young people are confronted with on a day to day basis pretty
much lend itself. To offering a means for these young people to associate themselves with other young people who are basically doing and selling drugs and it is financially rewarding. That's the bottom line it's it's advantageous. To go out and be able to make a friend $400 a night which is a healthy profit. More so than get a summer job and make what I was not in the interview. And are you going to keep it down on the farm as you were you know doing we've asked you to get involved out there listening I have 6 5 3 5 5 5 7 4 6 5 3 5 5 5 8 Let's go to the phones. Good evening you're out open for a loving Hello. Yes I can. OK good. I think a lot of good points been made but frankly I think that it starts at home. I think many parents are responsible. You talk about the drug situation yet many parents that actively about in a drug situation themselves along with their kids.
I think you have excellent experts there but I really wish that you could have got somebody like Dr. Francis Wellesley who I think also some some very good suggestions as to a starting point for solving many of the problems and heals in the community and one of the things he suggests is that blacks not become parents before the age of 30 for females before the age of 35 for males. Now I have more too and I have many clothes that are five years apart and I think we could begin to see some very rapid results and changes in the community and the behavior of our children. And she refers to many of these parents today these young babies having babies if you will as immature parents. OK emotionally and mature and I think this is a starting point. Thank you thank you so much it is a form of genocide. Good point. You know what's so interesting what's so interesting is that many of the young girls that have babies are the daughters of young girls that had babies
who are the daughters of young girls who have babies somewhere along the line. Don't you think. The mother should talk to the young girl and tell her it's like to have a baby. You wish. OK I don't really get your response to that because we see a lot of the problem. The question that you are asking should the mother tell her daughter we find that in many situation the mother herself hasn't grown enough when you have a grandmother who is dirty too and who hasn't lived her life yet who has not the year to actually have the development that it takes to be able to have some perspective and a grandmother who sometimes may be in competition with her daughter for this man. So you know there is a problem because the task the development that our tasks haven't been have not been accomplished. I would like just to say something to the lady who earlier talked about the new clamor about child abuse
because I don't want the audience I think I do get the point that you were making about the fact that we do need to give structure to our children and we need to discipline them they need to have values but I would like to post a word of caution when you said that what should have been done she should have killed the child. I must say that although I understand what you are saying but I Queens when I hear that because they're open That's who are killing their children. All right let's hope that's what I want to take a break and when we come back. Yeah. But but black folks I don't know anyone that hasn't heard their grandmother say go get that switch and it was the switch and the discipline and the restrictions that saved a lot of us from getting in. When you think about what you say we'll get your answers right after these comments. Think about this. If every one of us gave just five hours a week to the
causes we care about it would be like mobilizing more than 20 million full time volunteers just to tackle the problems of our society. We could all but wipe out drug abuse juvenile crime illiteracy all of those things we keep hoping will go away without our help. Just five hours a week but it has to start with somebody. So give me five when you get back. It's immeasurable. They are the victims of families in crisis. Children of the working or. Too poor to afford rent. So they shuffled from shelter to shelter room to room never having a place to call home for a long. Call to find out how you can help. The question is blacks killing blacks. Why. And a lot of people have said that it's
because of the lack of discipline. How do you feel about it out there in the audience. And if you'd like to call in with your views and opinions. Here's the number 6 3 6 5 5 5 7 6 3 6 5 5 5 7 or 5 5 5 8 6 3 6 5 5 5 8. Mario you want to comment on ever just before you do can I squeeze in this little tag. You said a word of caution. I really think that I maybe I maybe stepping out on the limb when I say this but a part of the plot problem in the black community is we Assimilated too much. I've always said that sometimes I think we were after equality and we settled on integration that we don't have integration or equality and we try to be like everyone else instead of holding on to those things unlike any other race of people. We are like everybody else and have lost our own now a part of our own was discipline. Yes ma'am. No sir I think you may have come in the room. What's wrong with that. What's wrong with Johnny accept smack in
Johnny's. What's wrong with that. Yes I think discipline is needed by children. If children cannot develop well even emotionally without discipline the question is how do you are provide a discipline. I think talking about our heritage not all black parents have beaten their children through the ages. It's possible to me as a child without belittling the child but not without some kind of restriction so yes you have to use discipline the child and this is not accomplished when the child is an adolescent. When the child is 10 years old by that time it's too late. You have to start the parent has to be able to do it from the time the child is a baby. You build discipline gradually and your every child is different what works for your first child may not necessarily work for your second child but. There were techniques that can be used and that's what we call parent skill development parenting skills development or we need to teach this in high school. Absolutely. When we were the need to learn how to plan it because nobody is
born knowing how to be ineffective parent. So in fact it should be a we cry a little shoe been on the ball that you EQM that people should know how to be you know parents and I think that the point is very well-taken. I will not go as far as using the prescription of the stated age for parenthood. I think we're all seeing the same thing that people have to develop themselves first before the only responsibility of parenting another human being. Agreed Let's go to the son's grave and thank you for holding your own open forum how. Oh you know tend to agree with much of what the panelists Jeff indicated as they relate to beginning not only just in high school but I would take it a step further and even go as far as back to elementary school because then you have an opportunity to touch bases with the parents that are within the schools because when you look in many of our schools our parents do not participate in what goes on with their children in the classroom. Now the other point that I wanted to make and I would be very brief and that
is the church yet can play a very major and vital role. I would say that in terms of building self image the church can do an excellent job in doing that. The thing is getting more involved and I would say as you relate to many of the panelists that they're on the show that they are on your show this particularly Archie for where he knows that the reality is that. For when the gentleman was talking about God that that's that's for real because we do talk about moral values and those values do tend to dictate your character if it is to dictate how you treat one another and above all how you treat yourself. I let the start of your moment let me stop you from and then I'll let you go. If you talk about the church then do you think as an institution across the board the church has fallen down on the job in teaching morality. Well the church is arguing about what morality should be. Well first of all when you talk about the church and this is something that we have to keep getting off of the soapbox about the church the church the church it's not too many black folk that know
that are not involved in some church in some form or fashion. What's there for me every one of the individuals that are sitting there and on that panel those who are sitting there no audience involved in some way shape or form the Church of the people which means that if your institutional church is not doing that everyone there has a responsibility to get their particular institution involved. Thank you very much. Good point. Did he make a good point there you've been itching to say something. Yes. Thank you Michael. OK. Thank you. I wanted to say that basically I agree with with everything and everyone stated. However one point that I did want to make is that it is in accordance with what you stated about trying to assimilate and chasing I think through us chasing and never focusing on ourselves that's a problem. And because we chase the individuals we are chasing can then in turn pollute all of our institutions and all of our systems must be completely unaware of this. Our church has polluted our
educational systems polluted. All of those things everyone stated is polluted we are now in a situation where we really have nothing to turn to we can elaborate on a million problems. But I think the problem is the individuals who are polluting the systems and the problem also lies in us chasing these individuals and still being involved in systems that we know are completely and correct the colleges the schools the churches they've all they've all been corrupted. I'm a college student. I know it doesn't do going to our corrupted institution. Exactly your kind I really have to be pleased that I know it well. In all honesty I really have no choice. I mean I'm in the society I have to I have to play a role function and that's my only option. You want to say so. I think that we can generalize quite a bit but it all goes back I think to the family. If your. Parents have shown you and I sit not sit but I've shown you that
people are always more important than things that you don't or you should never rely on clothing or having things for positive self image that what is good is already inside you. If your parents have shown you that then when you become a parent you tend to pass that on. And and we can. I think that the bad thing the worst thing that has happened is that we have gone away from the ages of the 60s when they were saying Say it loud we're black We're proud but people get together. In other words you are part of the community. Whatever you do affects your community and you have no right. I think we've lost focus. Let me ask you Professor Pierson she said she thinks that we have lost what we used to have the unity I feel like it's lost. Why did we lose it.
We lost a. Prior not prime out of it partially because of economic conditions. We seem to have in our own society a dirty little secret that we don't like to talk about and that deals with young people out on the street dealing with drugs and bringing some of the money home to mother. Should she use it. What should she do. What should we do about it. It's happening and we don't like to talk about it. Do they bring it home to mother audience. Do they bring the money home or do they keep it. They bring it home to mother so that that makes it difficult for a mother to decide or should it whether or not to pay that rent that is due with that money derived from selling drugs or to stand up and moralize Isn't that a difficult job. Should it. Is that difficult. No. OK let's go to the phones. Good evening thank you for holding your own open forum Hello. Hello. I. Went out there. Well in the meantime you've been waiting.
OK that is I mean it's just like let's say that even though everyone in the city might not be apparent that we all appearance. And we have to return to the attitude that these kids are our kids. I remember when I was growing up I was always afraid that any adult was liable to tell my parents what I was going to do so as a result that had an impact on my behavior and I don't think the kids get that sense nowadays not that we should be constantly disciplining them but. Commending them when they do something that's nice like let out a lady sit down on the bus with a young man does things like that. We just have to let them know that we appreciate them back commending them and about discipline and disciplining them good will soon commit crap form when this is something criminal. I'd just like to challenge the audience and everyone who really cares about what's happening to black people to just take a personal responsibility for making sure that as we go through our lives that we're positive every day that we do what we individually can to combat the problem. Because when I talk to
young students in high school I've talked to them about that how they they get into the scuffs about so many petty things. And if I challenge them to be positive every day yourself and if everybody did that I think we could turn the problem around. I think the Western people have her sitting I want to go back just a minute I'm going on the other side of the room to the panel quickly as possible because I can't believe we're almost out of time. Where do we begin. I mean we can sit here all night long and talk about the problems. But where do we began. Let's start with you Professor Where do we begin. I don't know where we began we had such a massive problem that once we get started it will probably take 20 years to resolve. But I don't know what the starting point. I mean can't you say start at home. Should we start there. I mean LS We began to put the onus on the people then are we ever going to get started. Maria Yes I think we all have to take personal responsibility for our community for our youth and feel a sense of personal ownership in a
sense of accountability. I think we need to start with the truly informed and they are behaviors at the same time. I think we need to go to our school. We need to drop that to kids. Teach them how four years of conflict without resorting to violence. I think we need to stop beating on our children because we teach them violent wounds I think we need to discipline them in ways which are not violent. And then of course we beat on each other. Many children see that also and the police are called out to settle those kinds of disturbances I think where they are. But you know if you violate a stalling board I would say that we started home in homes where you build families. I think the systems have to be designed to support. Families so that parents are at home with the living values to their kids. We don't have systems for now because kids have kids and they don't know what to tell the kids. And people benefit from crime. Every day people benefit from one
automobile dealership jewelry dealership homeowners prions they all benefit from it. Real quick you wanted to say something you would have liked. We all go home for some you know all my life what I want to say was look at the multi all the capital city that's worth creating. Drug addicts and golfing NAJERA office look at it look at it look at the capitol city look would you breathe you know look at every You are breeding criminals may come out to be real I mean city if we can make it we can see it is they want to happen do we hate ourselves. I hated myself and for years I was told I was black. That was dirty doubles for me I would feel that I was never here that there will never be enough that this is what I was taught and that's part of the problem. Thank you thank you for a way to say that. At.
Program
Open Forum
Episode
Black on Black Crime
Contributing Organization
WHUT (Washington, District of Columbia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/293-14nk9bp5
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Description
Episode Description
Black on black crime is discussed, and some of the guests suggest that the concept of same race violence may not be specific to the black community. The host presses the guests that there is something different among black youth that causes their violent behavior.
Created Date
1988-00-00
Asset type
Episode
Topics
Social Issues
Race and Ethnicity
Public Affairs
Law Enforcement and Crime
Rights
Copyright 1988 Howard University, Inc.
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:58:45
Embed Code
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Credits
Guest: Pierson, Gwynne
Guest: Kanda, Mireille
Guest: Fulwood, Isaac
Host: Smith, Bev
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WHUT-TV (Howard University Television)
Identifier: 338-62 (WHUT)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 01:00:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Open Forum; Black on Black Crime,” 1988-00-00, WHUT, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-293-14nk9bp5.
MLA: “Open Forum; Black on Black Crime.” 1988-00-00. WHUT, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-293-14nk9bp5>.
APA: Open Forum; Black on Black Crime. Boston, MA: WHUT, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-293-14nk9bp5