Musings on the City That Care Forgot
When crime reached a high pitch fervor throughout the country two decades ago, crack was blamed. But studies are showing now that notions we took for granted like crack babies, didn’t really exist. What does exist is poverty and undernourished women giving birth to under cared for babies.
There has been a lot of talk in New Orleans about why we have such a high crime rate. Corrupt politicians, police force, are to blame as much as a laissez faire attitude that helps provide this city with at least one of its nicknames, The City That Care Forgot.
Today Silence is Violence, a grassroots organization formed ad hoc after two prominent artists in the city were senselessly murdered – Helen Hill and Dinerral Shavers – is organizing a candlelight vigil for a two-year-old boy who had his throat slit by his deranged father as well as for all of the people who have been murdered in New Orleans this year and it is only January 9th.
Wear RED – that is one way you might show your solidarity in shouting “Enough!” at the powers that be. Go to City Hall. March in the candlelight vigil tonight.
Another way is to think what crime in New Orleans means to you and think about what it means way deep down in your psyche. This is hard to admit, but it’s true: when we found out that our unborn adopted baby, who is black, is going to be a girl, we let out a deep sigh of relief. Why? Because it’s hard for a black person in New Orleans, but it’s triple hard for a black boy.
There is so much deep seeded racism to overcome that simply electing a black man to be our president is only one small baby step for mankind. The other day, six young black boys were hopping and skipping down the bayou and a white man was taking photographs of them. They looked happy, mischievous, and adorable, but someone walked over and said to watch them because one of them had a pipe and was hitting cars. I couldn’t help but feel we were “watching” them because they were black, not boys, who are by nature made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails.
Yes, our black daughter will have more of an opportunity down here in New Orleans. And I will fear for her safety less than I would if we were adopting a black son. But tell me, what is wrong with that picture, or rather what is right with it?
I’m not sure I have any answers, and often I know I flail around at what I might be able to do to change the status quo, but Phoenix, We have a Problem. And that is why we have crime. So today, wear RED, talk about crime, think about what might be causing it, and if you come to any conclusions or have any suggestions about what you and I could do to make this city as wonderful as it should be for all of the boys, girls, men and women who live here, open your mouth and speak.
Because silence is violence.