" Race Traitor is a moniker given to any
person who murders another member
of the same race." -- Mark Davis
We still shooting without any concern for who gets shot? The gang culture for survival in the Hood still reigns. Our numbers are dwindling with the loss of so many young black boys dying for Nothing!
A bullet has no conscious, if you in the path you may be the recipient. So who shall we blame? Gang Shit running rampant, the Black Community for abandoning its responsibility or conditions bestowed on us because we are Black and last on the list in America, and “Entrenched” at the bottom of American society?
Mya Angelou wrote this poem: “In these bloody days and frightful nights when the urban warrior can find no Face more despicable than his own, no Ammunition greater than Self-Hate and no Target more deserving of his true aim than his own brother. We often wonder how we came so late and lonely to this place.”
When I read this poem I felt like she knew that our youth were approaching the allure of violence and there seemed to be no alarm. What did she really mean when she described the Despicable Face and the Self-Hate? Roots embedded in the history of this nation. The original novel Race Traitors, published in 2005 addressed some factors that were responsible for the trend, yet in 2020, 16 years later “Aint Shit” changed.
Gun Violence, Gang Violence, Murder in the Hood! I could present you with the data. The number of blacks youths killed in Chicago since 1974, but this is not going to be a training lesson. If you really want to know what those numbers are, lookup the Data. I remember seeing a poster which depicted the Klu-Klux-Klan discussing how they didn’t have to kill “Black men” anymore because we did the killing for them! Killing another Black man became a routine. For whatever reason! Wasn’t any sleep lost! No conscious disturbances! No remorse or anxiety! Killing another Human Being left no tracks. Happening almost every day and nobody generating a remedy, a strategy or a definition for why it has continued to happen. Now! Where do we go from here?
If you got something to say, Speak UP!
Commander, Mark Davis outside of 006th District
Mark Davis celebrated 47 years in the field of Law Enforcement. He served 32 of those years with the Chicago Police Department, rising through the ranks from Police Officer to District Commander. He was a product of the community. Raised on the Southside and suffered through trials of conflicts with the police, one of which resulted in an arrest and charges of resisting arrest and battery of a police officer.
He moved past that experience and became a Chicago Police Officer. From that depth, he rose through the ranks, was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant and finally, Commander of the 006th District, an assignment that brought challenges and accomplishments in District Law Enforcement and Community Policing. Mark retired in 2002 from Chicago and he became the Chief of Police for the Village of Calumet Park, a small suburban community just south of the cities southern boundaries.
That position presented a number of challenges many involving
racial conflicts with the existing members of that department.
He knew who he was and what his talents brought to the
department but many members objected to his style of
leadership and management philosophy which resulted in
years
of Federal court battles and decisions which ultimately
changed the Villages Police Department to the benefit of the Community and the Department. He retired from that position in 2015 and
he became the Executive Director of the Calumet
Park new 911 Dispatching center. After two years in that
position, he retired completely in 2017. Now Mark is enjoying
a full retirement
and living in Chicago and Palm Bay, Florida.
GUN VIOLENCE CHALLENGE
The Gun Violence in African American Communities document presents a clear picture of the problem.Looking at it in spans of 18 years prior to this report, (1974) and 15 years after, (2007) one can challenge the numbers.
What has changed since 1974? Nothing!Headlines continue to awaken our community with the ever-present existence of gun violence in our community.
Who wants to conduct the research for today?Will there be a significant reduction or an increase?I challenge anyone to secure data that will reflect this complaint.The locations where they were obtained are printed next to the data listed in the report.Since 1994 how many black murder victims were slain by black offenders: FBI Uniform Crime Report released in 2006.
In 1992, firearm homicide was the number one cause of death for black men ages 15-34 and the second leading cause of death for all 15-24 year olds:NationalCenter of Health Statistics, 1994.Have those numbers increased?
Those of you who feel challenged enough, and certainly this is a topic of concern for all Americans, conduct the research.Use this topic for a school paper.Find the answers and share them with me. This illness affects all of us.
Mark Davis
" Opps, looks like somebody beat us to it." (See Article below)
GUN VIOLENCE IN THE
AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Gun violence is a priority issue for African-Americans and other minorities.
Nearly 350,000
Americans were victims to murders, robberies, and aggravated
assaults in 2003 committed by
perpetrators carrying a firearm,and our
minority communities are the hardest hit:
• In 2002, firearm homicide was the number one cause of death for 15-34 year old African-
Americans.
• In 2002, the firearm death rate for African-Americans was over twice that of whites.
• In 2002, an African-American male under age 30 was nearly 9 times more likely to be
murdered than a white male under age 30.
• In 2003, 91 percent of African-American murder victims were slain by African-American
offenders.
• In 2002, African-American males accounted for 47 percent of all homicide victims,
while they only account for 6 percent of the entire population.
• Firearms have become the predominant method of suicide for African-Americans aged
10-19 years, accounting for 64 percent of suicides in 2002.
• In Florida, African-American males have an almost eight times greater chance of dying in
a firearm-related homicide than white males. In addition, the firearm-related homicide
death rate for African-American females is greater than white males and over four times
greater than white females.
• In Florida, White males have over twice as high a firearm-related suicide death rate as
their African-American male counterparts and almost five times the rate of white
females.
June 2005
Endnotes:
1. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Key Facts at a Glance: Crimes committed with firearms,
1973-2003, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/guncrimetab.htm
2. WISQARS, Leading Causes of Death Reports, National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control, Centers for Disease Control.
http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html (hereafter Leading Causes of
Death Reports).
3. WISQARS, Injury Mortality Reports, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control,
Centers for Disease Control. http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_sy.html
(hereafter Injury Mortality Reports).
4. Ibid.
5. FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 2003, table 2.7, p. 18.
6. WISQARS, Injury Mortality Reports.
7. U.S. Census Bureau, July 1, 2004 national population estimates. http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2004-srh.html
8. WISQARS, Leading Causes of Death Reports.
9. Florida Injury Prevention and Control Program. HRS Office of Health Promotion and
Wellness, 1993
10. Florida Injury Prevention and Control Program. HRS Office of Health Promotion and
Wellness, 1993
