Edward Wykoff Williams has a good piece in The Root today exposing the problems with the notion of "black on black" violence. http://www.theroot.com/views/why-don-t-we-talk-about-white-white-crime As Williams notes, most crime in all ethnic groups is committed by members of the same ethnic groups yet we do not speak of a white on white violence problem. In addition, Williams does an outstanding job of bringing out the simple fact that the idea of "black on black" violence has led to greater policing in black neighborhoods which, predictably, leads to greater arrests of black persons and increased entanglement with the criminal justice system. Finally, Williams cites the pioneering work of Professor Michelle Alexander on the profoundly disturbing impact disparate enforcement of the law has had on the black community. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Professor Alexander's book should be required reading for every American, but especially for those who do not believe racism is alive and well in America today.
The rate at which persons of one ethnic group commit crimes against persons of the same ethnic group is evidence that the melting pot metaphor does not hold. Our nation and our cities are divided places. The lines along which we divide are predictable, but sad: race, ethnicity, poverty, wealth, etc. Obviously this is nothing new, but the Williams piece and the literature he cites bring home the point of how hopelessly divided our society is in a novel manner. Rhetoric of freedom and equality aside (which, if you think about it for a moment, are actually opposing ideas), we remain a balkanized or ghettoized society. We should view pronouncments about any single ethnic group with suspicion to discern hidden motives and flawed assumptions and we should view pronouncements about the black community with an even more critical eye given the ongoing institutionalized disparate treatment of African Americans.
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