Shawn Maxam is tired of being afraid for his life just because he happens to be a man of color.
The Jordan Davis story probably got lost in the shuffle of the Thanksgiving holiday and also because there was a rapid appropriate response by law enforcement. I won’t go into specific details about the case except to say that a 17 year old unarmed African-American male was killed again.
Michael David Dunn is charged with murder and attempted murder in the Nov. 23 shooting at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station. The 45-year-old Dunn parked beside the sport utility vehicle occupied by (Jordan) Davis and three other young men and told them to turn the music down, police said. Dunn exchanged words with Davis, who was in the back seat, and started firing.
I am heading into NYC in a few hours, specifically Brooklyn, and I can honestly say I am experiencing anxiety about the trip. I am constantly afraid whenever I am outside of my apartment. I experience fear when I am driving my car to graduate school in Pennsylvania, when I am riding the subway in New York and when I am walking around the small town of Princeton, NJ. I am constantly afraid of being the victim of gun violence. Both the cases of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis illustrate that this isn’t some irrational paranoid fear that I have. Whether it is my own personal experiences of racial profiling or the larger issue of societal stereotyping of men, specifically Black men, we need a have a honest conversation about why I feel a sense of accomplishment by reaching the age of 31 years old.
Please share this with friends, enemies and temporary allies alike.
Thanks for reading, sharing and commenting!
R.I.P. SKH
About S. Maxam
Thanks for writing this Shawn. We need to hear your voice and keep talking about this.
“To be young, black and innocent is to live in a world full of folks who will always see you differently than you see yourself; ─ It is to live in a world where folklore, statistics and conjecture deem you dangerous until proven otherwise.” ─ From Riding in Cars with Black People & Other Newly Dangerous Acts: A Memoir in Vanishing Whiteness.
Dear Shawn, I hear you papa. I hear you so loud and clear. I share that exact same sentiment. everyday .Whether it’s on the subway or going up the street to McDonald’s or on my way to visit a friend up the block – there’s always that dreaded fear in the back of my mind – what if today is my day? What if today is my day to catch a stray or just as bad – what if I become ill in a public space (w/ a psychotic episode or a panic attack) and the police roll up on me untrained or simply not giving a damn because of the fact that I’m a tall large male with full lips, curly hair and rich dark skin and I can’t respond to their demands in a timely fashion because I can’t understand them at the moment or because I freeze and cannot speak. Then I think about all the other Brothas and Papis who I wouldn’t get the chance to get the message to that mental illness does happens to us but we can still live good lives if given the chance with the proper help and a heart felt determination. No, it’s not because I’m a savior coz I’m not – but it was in fact a Black man who gave me the message that I could live in spite of having a mental illness. After I finally began to learn what that meant and after I began to heal and regain my strength – then I too began to share the message with other men of color and to any one else who would listen. But what if – just what if today were my day? Sometimes it gives me chills. I read your account of what happened to you Pa and I tell you I cried coz it hurt me so bad. In fact I can’t ever read it again – it disturbed me just that much. I’m so grateful that they didn’t take you that day because if they had you wouldn’t have been here to help to inspire me and the many other men of color whose lives you are touching that you don’t even know about through the beauty and simplicity of your life. Now since I’m a big self confessed cry baby I won’t say much more other than this – thank you a thousand times for this post and for speaking out for by this I know that truly I am not alone. Much Love, Miguel!
“They are uneducated, lazy, violent, and have bad hygiene” that’s a paraphrased quote of what the Irish were saying about the north Irish.
That was a matter of religious persecution and “othering”, but it still goes to show you that oppression can be within race and gender lines.
Black men have 8 times the risk of being murdered of white men, and 13 times the risk of being murdered over white women. 85% of the time this black man will have been murdered by another black man.
I’m not saying that black men don’t face oppression. In fact it seems to be very real. I have no frame of reference of what it would be like to just not be able to freely move without suspicion (although I hear some men are beginning to feel this when they are wherever kids engage in activities: http://www.genderratic.com/p/2343/misandry-%E2%80%93-men-and-children-again/ )
However, when we look to the worst oppression (loss of 3/4′s of the years of your life on earth) it is overwhelmingly coming from black men (upon black men). Bill Cosby tried to highlight this and (without an official say so) seems to have been ostracized from the black leader movement for it.
I’m a white male, and actually have a lot of sympathy for black men. Twice a black man is the only person willing to help me when I was down on my luck. I have found black men in my life friendly and amiable and have a wry sense of humor once you get to know them.
And it is from that mindset (of concern) that I am stating that I am sick of black leaders flying to speak in a city where a white cop has shot a black man and giving long speeches, when there is a plague of black male on black male murders. These men aren’t leaders at all. We can’t blame all inner city black problems on racism.
We need real and honest discussion.
What are people to do???
In Chicago alone ……
Victims
Dec. 4
– Alexis Stevens, a 23 year old unknown female, caused by a gunshot in Woodlawn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Dec. 2
– Name Unknown, a unknown male, caused by a gunshot in Woodlawn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Dec. 1
– Marlon Vaughn, a 28 year old black male, caused by a stabbing in North Lawndale.
> Read more about this homicide.
Dec. 1
– Walter Pate, a 29 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Armour Square.
> Read more about this homicide.
Dec. 1
– Shemara Fitzpatrick, a 23 year old white female, caused by a gunshot in Austin.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 30
– William Martin, a 30 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Fuller Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 30
– Tremayne Franklin, a 33 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Englewood.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 30
– Aswell Selmon, a 46 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Uptown.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 30
– Timothy Kinds, a 32 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Chatham.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 28 – Raymond Ogara, a unknown male, caused by a stabbing in Norwood Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 28
– Darius Hartfield, a 22 year old unknown male, caused by a gunshot in South Shore.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 28
– Raymond Ogara, a unknown male, caused by a stabbing in Norwood Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 28
– Darius Hartfield, a 22 year old unknown male, caused by a gunshot in South Shore.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 26
– Porshe Foster, a 15 year old unknown female, caused by a gunshot in Chicago Lawn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 26
– Tyrone Scott, a 43 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in West Garfield Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 26
– Sherman Miller, a 21 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Greater Grand Crossing.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 25
– Billie Daniels, a 25 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Englewood.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 25
– Leonard Phillips, a 34 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Near West Side.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 22
– Christopher Jacobs, a 19 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in New City.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 22
– Jonathan Belton, a 25 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Gage Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 21
– William Terry, a 55 year old white male, caused by a stabbing in Roseland.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 21
– Name Unknown, a 19 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in New City.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 20
– Keith Shaw, a 22 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Albany Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 19
– James Holman, a 32 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Washington Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 18
– Eric Ross, a 23 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in New City.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 18
– Emilio Palomo, a 16 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in New City.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 17
– Darius McGraw, a 22 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Chicago Lawn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 17
– Freddie Hernandez, a 20 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in South Lawndale.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 16
– Bruce Bennett, a 49 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in North Lawndale.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 15
– Bryan Lopez, a 24 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in Albany Park.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 15
– Joshua Albert, a 26 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in Austin.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 15
– Sergio Oliva, a 15 year old unknown male, caused by a gunshot in Chicago Lawn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 13
– Elahmadi Goba, a 40 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in Auburn Gresham.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 12
– Taylor Fitting, a 16 year old white female, caused by a gunshot in Roseland.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 10
– Anthony Bagsby, a 20 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in South Shore.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 9
– Darrell Austin, a 19 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Calumet Heights.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 8
– Rodney Stewart, a 17 year old black male, caused by a gunshot in Ashburn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 7
– Joshua Lowe, a 20 year old unknown male, caused by a gunshot in Ashburn.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 6
– Rodolpho Hernandez-Bey, a 39 year old white male, caused by a strangling in Avondale.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 3
– David Kitka, a 29 year old white male, caused by a gunshot in Belmont Cragin.
> Read more about this homicide.
Nov. 3
In America today, racial profiling and gender profiling tend to go hand in hand, and the gender differences may be even bigger than the racial differences. Black men who are targets of profiling and violence are targeted not just for being black but also for being MALE.
This is not mean to discount racism one bit, and it’s not meant to say that black women have it made.This is also not meant to say that white men and black men face exactly the same problems.
But, if we’re going to compare rates between black and white, let’s also look at rates between male and female. In terms of being targeted for violence, men may have more in common with each other across racial boundaries than they have in common with women of their own race. This is partly (partly!) about how society treats men, not just how it looks at black people.
Shawn, I appreciate what you are saying. I had an experience when I worked as a typesetter in Manhattan that brought your thoughts and experiences home to me in a deep way. I was going to work one evening and the small elevator was filled with African-American men. When they saw me, a white woman, I could hear a collective intake of breath, wondering if I was another crazy white person, what might I do. When I got in and acted like a normal human being, everyone relaxed and we all wished each other good night when I got off. When I told this story to people, they asked if I was scared! I couldn’t believe they didn’t understand that the men on the elevator were scared, not me.