Dec 8, 2016

Black on Black Crime Isn't a Myth

By Donyae Coles / freenightsandweekends.org
Black on Black Crime Isn't a Myth

Let’s talk about Black on Black crime. Maybe you’ve heard about it on the news, specifically likely in regards to Black people murdered by other Black people. Perhaps you’ve heard it from people in relation to #BlackLivesMatter because how can Black lives matter when we’re out here killing each other? So, as a Real Life Black Person™, I am going to clear up this whole discussion for you.

Yes, Black people do kill other Black people. Yes, you are more likely to be killed or otherwise harmed by a Black person if you are a Black person. That being said, you can replace Black with White and that sentence is still true. Black on Black crime isn’t a myth any more than White on White crime is but the narrative that surrounds it and makes it seem like this unique thing that is only true of Black people is basically racism 101. And furthermore, it has nothing to do with whether or not trained police officers have the right to harass, profile, and murder Black people at a disproportionately higher rate than White people, which is what #BlackLivesMatter is about.

Black on Black Crime (hereafter referred to as BBC), is the idea that Black people are violent by nature to the point of killing each other. The fact of the matter is that people tend to be violent, especially those who live in high-stress situations, such as poverty which we know also disproportionately affects people of color.

That being said, crime rates are pretty steady across the board for both White and Black people. Just as many White people are committing violent crimes against other White people as there are black people. This is because crime is largely intraracial. People, generally, aren’t leaving their close surroundings to commit crime.

If you’re going to rob a store, it will be in your neighborhood or close by. If you’re going to murder someone, they will likely be someone who frequents the same places you do. Because the United States is still largely unsegregated when it comes to housing this means that Black people live with other Black people and White people live with other White people.

So if someone has a criminal intention, it will more than likely be carried out against someone who looks like them.

BBC isn’t a “thing” because Black people are more violent or because White people are better. It’s merely a manipulation of facts to fit a racist narrative. That’s it.

It gets even murkier when you consider that the metric that we use to create crime statistics is inherently flawed. BBC generally refers to homicides but that is just one piece of the overall issue. Across the board, Black people are more like to be arrested, convicted, and given harsher sentences for crimes than their White counterparts which help to skew reporting statistics.

Again, this isn’t because there are higher rates of crime in Black communities, this is because there are higher rates of arrests and convictions in Black communities. These are not the same things. Broken Window policies and racial profiling have helped to ensure that Black people are arrested and incarcerated at a higher rate.

This has a devastating effect on the community as families are torn apart, they are thrown deeper into the clutches of poverty and are more likely to engage in criminal behavior to get by. This all feeds into why you see a larger number of Black people incarcerated.

This isn’t a victim mentality. This isn’t about not being able to function in civilized society. Black on Black crime is a narrative device that cherry picks facts and uses limited information as a way to further oppress Black people. By making it seem that we are inherently violent, it makes it OK for us to be handled violently. That is the truth of Black on Black crime.


Donyae Coles is a freelance writer who is just really into people being decent to one another and cats. When she’s not taking on the Patriarchy and White Supremacy she likes to crochet and paint. You can follower her on her blog, Free Nights and Weekends, on Facebook, and Twitter @okokno.

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