“Respect your elders.”
That’s a phrase we often heard when growing up, right?
Well it’s also a phrase I continuously live by even as an adult. I’ve always been intrigued by older individuals. Their perspectives, though sometimes different than mine depending on the subject, often give my brain a bit of extra adrenaline. It’s a rush I enjoy.
So when our more seasoned people talk, I always listen. Not just because it is the respectful thing to do, but also because I am sure to get some degree of knowledge or a unique perspective that I had not previously considered.
Recently, an elder statesman in the community sent me a letter that got me thinking. The correspondence was from Cornell Burris, former president of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter of the NAACP who was credited with improving the organization after a not so successful attempt by his predecessor.
In his letter, Burris mentioned that the majority of the city’s homicides committed already this year were by African-Americans. Burris also included a copy of a Letter to the Editor that was published in the November 16, 1991, issue of the Recorder. (This is another reason I love older people: they preserve history in their hearts and in their vast archival systems).
The Letter to the Editor was from an inmate who worked in the law library at Pendleton Correctional Facility. Among the things the individual referenced was a letter allegedly written by a member of the Ku Klux Klan titled “A Salute to All Gang Bangers.” Though Burris requested I reprint the letter, I decided against it because I did not want the content to be misperceived by some as glorifying gangs.
I will, however, provide a few excerpts from the submission some 21 years ago.
“Keep killing each other for nothing. The streets are not yours, ni*#ers, it is ours. You are killing each other for our property. You are killing what could be future Black doctors, lawyers and businessmen that we won’t have to compete with; and the good thing about it is that you are killing the youth…We love to hear how many ni*#ers get killed over the weekends. You are doing a wonderful job in eliminating the Black race.”
Again, the “salute” was allegedly written by a KKK member, but it very well could have been written by someone else in an attempt to initiate a wake-up call to minorities who commit Black-on-Black crime. Nonetheless, the content institutes dialogue and as Burris put it, “ I believe that (21) years later, we in this community, and for that matter, the nation are still dealing with the same issues that continue to spiral out of control more aggressively every day.”
I recently spoke to a close friend of mine who lives in Chicago. She and her husband have a 6-year-old son and are thinking of having another child in the near future. I told my friend that I wish they would move out of Chicago because of the city’s increasing homicide rate (at Recorder press time, Chicago had over 50 homicides).
Being the headstrong and stubborn woman that she is, my friend – a Chicago native – said her family was going to stay in Chicago.
“Why should I allow ignorance to force me to leave a place I love,” my friend asked me.
My response was “because you are raising a boy, crime is rampant and the city is unsafe.” It made sense to me, but I also understand her point.
If we continue to run away from the problem, we never find any real solutions. It is like putting a band-aid over a gunshot wound…it won’t stop the bleeding.
So while there are no easy solutions and the ones I have are so multifaceted. like training people to be better parents, addressing the education and employment disparities, having more law enforcement officers on the streets, and implementing tougher (but fair) laws for recidivism; something needs to be done…and soon.
So rather than salute gang bangers and other criminals, I am merely asking them to make better decisions, value their own lives as well as the lives of others, and try utilizing their skill set and street-smarts to do something positive and uplifting for themselves and the community.
When we know better, we do better, so it is also the responsibility of those of us who actually know better to better educate the uninformed. In other words, rather than cast judgment on that person you may perceive as a thug, strike up a conversation and enlighten them. You’d be amazed at how surprised they are that someone actually said something kind, motivating or thought-provoking to them.
You can email comments to Shannon Williams at shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
