It's probably both. There is definitely a concerted effort to stop reporting black-on-black crime or even use that term. For what it's worth, there is an underlying idea here (class based) that I find useful, while not agreeing with the use of the terms "white supremacy" or "systemic racism."
By Zariah Taylor. Zariah, 15, attends Carver Early College and wrote this article as part of her work as a student at VOX ATL's afterschool program. This article was originally published on
www.afterschoolalliance.org
Black on Black crime is a symptom of systemic racism.
The issue of Black-On-Black crime is often pinned on Black people. The logic is that “
Maybe if you guys just stopped killing each other, the problem would end.” What people don’t stop to think about is the root of Black-On-Black crime.
Black people killing each other at high rates is a direct output of white supremacy. Crime is a result of socio-economic status, meaning that if you are poor, you are more likely to commit a crime. Black people are one of the two racial groups with the
highest poverty rates, along with Native Americans. In the 1960s, because of white supremacist ideals, all white-schools were given
more funding than schools of color. Even after legal segregation in schools ending, even today,
research shows that “School Districts where the majority of students enrolled are students of color receive $23 billion less in education funding than predominantly white school districts.” If you live in a low-income neighborhood and go to an
underfunded school with unqualified and underpaid teachers, you’ll be less inclined to pay attention and more inclined to drop out. Without an education, you’ll be less likely to get a job. Without a job and living in poverty, that person may then resort to petty crimes like selling drugs in order to earn money. That may start them on a path to committing more violent crimes. Even if they do decide to turn their life around, what’s their chance of being hired after committing a violent crime? T
his is a vicious cycle originally created by the oppressor that has killed millions of Black people. Black people didn’t start this problem, so why is it always blamed on us? Instead of wagging the finger at Black people, we should instead focus on the problem, not the people.
******
To conclude, it is very disappointing to see people subscribe to the Black-On-Black crime narrative, especially Black people. We need to analyze how this language is used as a divisive tactic to make us turn against each other.
Both police brutality and Black-on-Black crime are the results of the same monsters: white supremacy and systematic racism. Instead of blaming each other, let’s get to the root of the problem and continue fighting for the end of systemic racism.
Also, this, which shows the media thinks about how its reporting race in mass shootings and worried about reenforcing negative stereotypes about black people:
The news media is making progress on how to responsibly and ethically report on mass shootings.
www.scu.edu
Consistency in the portrayal of mass shooters across different races
Another ethical issue is the differential treatment in American journalists’ portrayal of mass shooters. A number of news research studies have been focused on this and point to the risk of reporters either reinforcing stereotypes when shooters are people of color, or downplaying legitimate risks when the shooters are white.
In one study released this year, media researchers Mohamad Hamas Elmasry and Mohammed el-Nawawy analyzed
Los Angeles Times’ and
New York Times’ coverage of mass shootings in Las Vegas in 2017 and Orlando in 2016. In Las Vegas, the perpetrator was a white, non-Muslim American. In Orlando it was an American Muslim of Afghani origin. (
Can a Non-Muslim Mass Shooter Be a “Terrorist”?: A Comparative Content Analysis of the Las Vegas and Orlando Shootings)
- “The Muslim perpetrator was called a ‘terrorist’ in about 38% of articles about the Orlando shooting. The non-Muslim perpetrator was labeled a ‘terrorist’ in 5% of articles about the Las Vegas shooting.”
- “Meanwhile, about 55% of articles focusing on the Orlando massacre described the perpetrator as a ‘gunman,’ compared with more than 80% of articles about the Las Vegas killings.”
The researchers warned that when journalists downplay white male identity in violent crimes, it may “prevent the public’s learning about the potential threat of white male shooters.”
In another wider study of news articles, researchers Scott Duxbury, Laura Frizell, and Sade Lindsay, writing in the
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, found that white or Latino shooters were much more likely to receive the
mental illness frame than black perpetrators. (
Mental Illness, the Media, and the Moral Politics of Mass Violence: The Role of Race in Mass Shootings Coverage.)
- “The odds that white shooters will receive the mental illness frame are roughly 19 times greater than the odds for black shooters,” Scott Duxbury and his colleagues wrote.
- “The odds that a Latino shooter will receive the mental illness frame are roughly 12 times greater when compared to blacks.”
- “White shooters framed as mentally ill were also shown as suffering from extreme life circumstances, and almost never when the shooter was black. When black shooters received the mental illness frame, they did not receive a testament to their good character, nor did the reporters claim the shooting was out of character.”
The score: On this front, the score on progress is again unclear. The studies pointing to the problems themselves are recent and more studies are going to be needed to identify changes in reporters’ frames.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
