in response to "round em up now" and the beloved community

i started to comment but i didn't have time to fully articulate my disgust for this "let us search your shit for kicks and we MIGHT not prosecute you" program that's being floated by DC and other cities. my vote is...

hellll to da nawww!

first off just reading the proposal points that bellini outlined yesterday, the program seems way too sketchy for me. as gangsta d pointed out in the comments, the program goes nowhere if there is no community buy-in, no "volunteers" willing to let the police all up and through they residence on a search for guns and drugs. AND they want people to sign consent forms that will most likely (a) allow the police to do whatever the hell they want when they enter your home and (b) waive any responsibilities or liabilities or promises on the police's part to not prosecute, be nice, and not fuck up your shit in the process.

Then the kicker is that if the guns are found to have been involved in a crime of some sort, the police will launch an "investigation" and you best believe charges will be filed and your ass is goin to jail. despite the wishy washy language in the article quote, somebody's gettin locked up! Again, whose gonna sign up for that? knowing as rum punch pointed out the history between the police and our people, dirty cops who plant, manipulate and otherwise twist evidence against us comes to mind.

i'm sorry bellini but i doubt if the aclu has enough "extra" lawyers to cover these random neighborhood sweeps to make sure the law is being enforced. furthermore, who would pay for these attorneys even if they could be found? the city and/or police force is damn sure not gonna fork over the money to provide oversight to a program they concocted.

i really do hear you that the "status quo" is not working but a failure in policing and crime fighting does not warrant an abandoment of folks basic rights, a relaxation of the constitutional freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. how bout the mayor and police force put there heads together to come up with creative LEGAL solutions to reduce crime that respect the humanity of the citizens and communities they interact with. but those are just my thoughts.

this post did get me to thinking about crime and black communities and black folks varied views about the crime in ours and other black communities and how to best tackle the problem. (yea that was quite long but follow me). you see this past weekend, i visited the new city to look for an apartment. i found a gorgeous place in an historically black community in the city. it is in a lovingly restored historic home with a balcony and a view of the city skyline. on a quiet couple of blocks in a historically black community that a native told me was "not some place where i wanted to live" and that i should pick an apartment near one of the white univiersities with white neighbors who would look out for me and my things.

now i took this advice somewhat seriously cause this is a new city that i've never lived in and i'm not trying to get shot walking from my car to my apartment. but the notion that i could only be safe in an area surrounded by whites was quite hilarious, especially coming a black person. i thought about the historically black neighborhoods in cities that i have lived in, like auburn avenue or the west end in atlanta. areas where you can find the most beautiful homes (like the one MLK grew up in) inhabited by upwardly mobile black folks and your obligatory gay white men on one block and crackheads a couple of blocks away.

i think that we should be cautious about fleeing these communities that we have historically inhabited because we percieve there to be more crime in these areas. being the internets slueth that i am, i did of search of both neighborhoods on the city's crime statistics website and found that both areas experienced about the same level of crime (thefts and auto thefts) in the past couple of months. but the perception is that since black folks live over there, the neighborhood is crap. what's white is right, and if you black, stay back!

if i (or we) followed this line of thinking, our most precious cultural gems will be handed over to crime and then to pioneering white folks who come in and gentrify. the difference is that those white folks demand respectful and diligent policing of their neighborhoods and aren't afraid to snitch on dem boys who be slinging on the corner.

i don't have all the solutions but i'm willing to put my head together with those who are willing to work and do something constructive about the problem. are you?

A Different World... This ain't Hillman baby

"Ain't no tellin where I may be
May see me in DC at Howard Homes
Comin, with my man Capone, Dummin f**kin somethin..."
- Kick In the Door, Notorius B.I.G.


As a native of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and a current resident, I have had many opportunities to attend the infamous Howard University (HU) homecoming. Homecoming events include step shows, a parade, pep rally, the football game [of course], concerts… the usual spread that you would find at an HBCU. But unlike other HBCUs, Howard’s homecoming somehow became known nationwide as “the ultimate homecoming weekend” that literally shuts down parts of D.C. and sends residents running indoors like the air strikes of the 50’s. Biggie, Ludacris, The Game, and even Adina Howard have all mentioned HU’s homecoming in their song lyrics.

As a teenager I enjoyed walking the perimeters of the “Yard”, fantasizing about the fun and freedom of dorm life and the college experience. We may not have been old enough to attend anyone’s party but there was enough going on outside to fulfill our thirst for excitement. Freshman year of college- my friends and I came home the weekend of HU’s homecoming on the sneak tip and didn’t tell our parents. What fun we had! You couldn’t tell us nothin’. I still remember huggin the porcelain that Saturday night… oh what a mess! As a young adult, I have attended alumni parties here and there but the excitement has definitely slowly waned with the years.
This past weekend, HU homecoming was once again in full effect. The city was abuzz, as usual. There were at least twenty celebrity hosted parties happening each night. The Howard Bisons beat the North Carolina A&T Aggies, 35-20. My homegirl (we'll call her Tracy) who lives in Jersey came down and brought her niece and three of her niece’s friends. The niece and friends (we’ll call them the Brat Pack) were all seventeen or eighteen years old. Tracy wanted the Brat Pack to experience the college homecoming scene in hopes of evoking a yearning for higher education within their hearts. They had a chance to attend a couple of the homecoming events, the football game, and chilled on the Yard.

Unfortunately, it was our Saturday night stroll down the one and only Georgia Avenue that will forever be etched in the Brat Pack’s memories. Picture this: four blocks of black folks (mostly youngins) everywhere. I’m talking all over the sidewalks, standing in the streets, posted in the parking lots… Most of these folks are from the urrrea and don’t attend HU or any other university. A hood car show with every type of Caprice, Caddy, Lincoln, etc. you can name, freshly waxed, rolling at 3 seconds per hour so that you can admire their 24 inch rims while you feel the music reverberate throughout your chest. As we walked down the sidewalk, brothas to the left and the right hollerin “ay babay”, “what’s up shorty”, and “can I walk witchu?”

The Brat Pack was eating it up for the first 20 minutes. They’re young, beautiful, green as hell and the vultures could smell the fresh meat. The young ladies were teeheeheeing and cheesing and snapping pictures. My homegirl and I were a few feet behind them looking like somebody’s designated chaperone. Every once and again, we’d have to get a fool straight for comin out the mouth with something inappropriate. Within minutes, I had threatened to clock a sucka with the empty glass bottle in my hand. Tracy had to let some S.O.B. know that her husband is an officer with a license to carry a weapon, and that she was not afraid to shoot on his behalf. It was effin crazy! The Brat Pack started looking less impressed and more outraged. As we began our retreat to the car, two young girls no more than 16 years old started fighting. And when I say fighting, these chicks were scrappin. A mob rushed around them. The police came running from across the street. Effin crazy! These youngins ain’t even got no high school diploma and wanna come crashin a college homecoming with some ignorant shit! Not a damn shameful bone in their bodies… it’s really sad. An epidemic.

What was even sadder was the Brat Pack’s negative comments and feeling of defeat as we rode in the car that night. I hope they remember the pride they felt approaching the campus Friday morning rather than the despair felt as we left Saturday night. Maybe we should have attended University of Maryland’s homecoming instead…

My people.