Why Do African-American Youth Kill Each Other? The Lack of Cultural Alignment

“A constant diet of hopelessness will ultimately darken their mental skies and make them believe that their future is bleak and they will, therefore, develop the self-destructive behavior patterns so many of our youth currently exhibit.” Na’im Akbar

The headline, “Murders of Young Black Men Rise” by Mike Wilkinson and Santiago Esparza in the Detroit News earlier this month prompted me to pause and think about why we continue to be plagued by this problem. In his Atlanta Post article this month, R.L’Heureux Lewis discusses the recurring exposure to violence students often encounter in their neighborhoods and the lack of resources dedicated to addressing the psychosomatic affects of overexposure to violence. Tony Sewell of the Guardian traces the violent behavior to boys’ over-feminised upbringing—too many single mothers raising boys, and the lack of a male role model to help the boys navigate and suppress the destructive proclivities that are inherent in them. Because the male role model is absent, Sewell believes that boys pursue alternatives in the form of male dominant figures normally found in gangs. The latter premise has a lot of currency among researchers. | The Atlanta Post