In Chicago, Blacks have a near-monopoly on killing and being killed. When someone is murdered in this city, there is a 75 percent chance that he or she was Black, a 77 percent chance that the killer was Black, and a strong likelihood the murder took place
This is based on a Chicago Police Department report which states that, of 2007’s 443 murder victims, 331 were Black, with Hispanics trailing at 81. Twenty-eight were white. Of the 325 persons arrested for murder that year, 253 were Black.
Hispanics trailed again at 60 and only 12 were white. Low-income communities on the South and West Sides had the highest concentrations of homicide, the department said.
If reports provided by the Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County are any evidence, that trend will continue in 2008. Seventy-five African Americans were murdered in Cook County between January and March%uFFFD65 percent of the 115 homicide total. Sixty-seven, or 89 percent, of the Black victims were males. Fifty-seven, or 85 percent, of those males were under 40.
And 64, or 85 percent, of the total number of Black victims were killed by gunfire. William Taylor, an official at the medical examiner’s office, noted that some deaths are still under investigation and, if ruled homicides, could increase those numbers.
Though the numbers are high, Larry Davis, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center on Race and Social Problems, reminded that Black homicide is a nationwide problem. “[Black homicide victims are] about 80 percent in most cities,” he said.
“Most murders are ‘in group’ phenomenon. That is, whites kill whites, Blacks kill Blacks.” But Blacks are being killed at a far higher rate%uFFFD10 times higher%uFFFDthan whites. Davis said the disparity is a matter of simple economics. “Poverty is the primary reason. People are trying to make their way. They’re not going to starve.
They’re not going to go without,” he said. “There’s nothing intrinsic about these events. [Homicide] is not intrinsic to Black people.” According to the Chicago Police Department, West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park and Englewood registered some of the highest murder numbers in 2007. Those areas are considered “hot spots” or havens for guns, gangs and drugs.
All three communities are among the poorest of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. A 2006 community profile done by the Chicago Department of Public Health reported a median income of $23,121 in West Garfield Park; $24,216 in East Garfield Park; and $18,955 in Englewood. These numbers are far below the city’s average income of $38,625.
The report also stated that 8,161 people, or 35 percent of West Garfield Park’s population lives in poverty; 7,179 people, or 34 percent of East Garfield Park’s population lives in poverty; and 17,344 people, or 43 percent of Englewood’s population lives in poverty. In conditions like these Tio Hardiman, director of gang mediation at the anti-violence organization, CeaseFire, said violence festers.
“What you have is guys that run four or five blocks. And they’ll kill each other over who’s going to control the resources on those blocks%uFFFD Blacks just don’t see [brotherhood] when it comes down to resources, when it comes down to money. Money is the dividing line,” he said. Often, the money and resources are tied into drugs.
“People are trapped in the cross fires of a gun drug war,” lamented Rev. Jesse Jackson. Legitimate employment, and a mass exit from drug culture are keys to decreasing homicide, Davis said. But he noted that the task would be difficult since, historically, African Americans have been kept from advancing economically.
In 2004, the Pew Hispanic Center reported that Black households had a median net worth of $6,000. Hispanic households were valued at $7,900 and white households at $88,000. “Nobody has faced the kind of segregation African Americans have experienced. We tend to be the only ones in the neighborhood, and we tend to be in them permanently%uFFFD [which means that] Blacks have higher concentrations of poverty,” Davis said.
“Hispanics start in barrios, but they tend to move out of them and, over a period of time, move into larger culture.” “It’s a function of society in terms of zoning, steering and loans. Society has done a great job of keeping Blacks out.”
Although he does not believe that Black homicide will lead to extinction, Davis projected that, if Black communities remain on the fringe, they will break from society and become islands of anarchy. “I think what we’ll have is more areas that are no-man’s lands, like what we see in Beirut and some places in Iraq.
“Areas where lawlessness prevails…where they’re not randomly killing each other, but killing each other over turf wars,” he said. “The police won’t go into these areas, and they will be ruled by small militias [and] little gangs.”
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