Another Victim of the Heavy Artillery Economy

By now, many of you have learned of the shooting death of Darrent Williams, a defensive back with the Denver Broncos and a rising star in the National Football League, cut down at the age of twenty-four, meaning I have already outlived him by two years. Jemele Hill, in a column written for ESPN, highlights the alarming trend of Black youth in America dying violently, citing popular culture's love affair with the "gangsta" lifestyle as the primary culprit.

As I was reading Ms. Hill's piece, one particular statement jumped out at me:

"While America is generally a violent place, no culture in this country glorifies violence more than the African-American community."

I can state, with confidence, that this assertion that African-Americans stand second to none when it comes to "glorifying violence" is incorrect, to say the least. You may say differently when you see 50 Cent rhyming about bitches and guns on MTV, but, last I checked, Black men didn't flood the market with firearms, nor do they have the ultimate say on what constitutes MTV's content. Sure, the White establishment may have a few Black foot soldiers among its ranks, but it remains the White establishment.

Still not convinced? Then riddle me this: who waged war on the people of Iraq and Afghanistan? Who was the authority on the various overt and covert operations usurping heads of state overseas, designed to expand America's economic and strategic interests? Who slaughtered this continent's indigenous population upon its arrival? Black people? Are Black people supplying each other with handguns in the streets of any American city and assault weapons in most of Africa? Are Black people supplying the "free world" with the latest in intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology? How about advanced fleets of aircraft? Yet Black people are the ones "glorifying violence"?

The way I see it, the death of this young man sums up the plight seen by America's impoverished Black youth: the only ways out of the slum are through a record contract, a sports contract or a gun. Forgive me if I painted too broad of a stroke while trying to make sense of this situation, for I am not a Black man, nor did I grow up in poverty, but you can appreciate why I say society is such that only the hustlers get ahead. To simply cite the Black community for allowing machismo to speak on its behalf, to indoctrinate its young minds, does not begin to address the issue at hand, for this economy depends on the spilling of blood. As long as journalists such as Ms. Jemele Hill choose to draft puff pieces in order to prolong a lucrative career writing for the elite, youth of colour will continue to kill each other in the streets of America, as they are doing to each other all over Africa, as they are doing in Afghanistan, in Iraq and throughout the world, so that the White establishment can continue to sell guns.

Darrent, as I said before to Ms. Jane Creba, may you one day rest in peace.