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ePaper created 2015-02-22, 17:33:25 | version 1.33.01
65 TO DEATH DO US PART URBANSOCIALITES.COM important than watching black male teenagers. For example, recent statistics state that black gay teenagers are three times more likely to commit suicide than their white counterparts. Similarly, black males are three times more likely to be killed by a police officer than white males are. However, who is watching these young black male teenagers? What would have happened if there were a parent, pastor or adult family member walking closely with MichaelWrite on the night he was shot to death by the white police officer? Would that person have been able to save his life by talking to him and being a buffer between him and the white police officer? Or would that person have been able to tell Michael to do as the police officer says to save his life and everyone a lot of trouble? Although no one was with MichaelWrite on the night he was killed, there were more than one thousand marchers onWashington shouting, “Hands up Don’t Shoot”. It would be amazing that if each one of those protestors returned to their neighborhood and mentored that black male (gay) teenager who might be the next one shot by a white male police officer or die because he realized he was gay. Although the black community has made great progress in the areas of employment, education, personal achievement and building wealth, there still seems to be a very large gap in protecting its teenagers. Whose responsible for protecting the black male teenager whether that teenager is heterosexual or homosexual? Ultimately the responsibility belongs to the home, community and family that the teenager belongs to. Perhaps the black community can begin to work within its community to protect its teenagers and keep those predators who may not value their life outside of the gates. It is not going to change until the Black Community begin to embrace the concept that Human Rights is as equally important as Civil Rights.