50 percent of all murders and manslaughters ,52 percent of all robberies and 40 percent of cop killings are committed by blacks even though blacks only make up 13 percent of the population of the United States. How could we blame any police officer for having a bias toward blacks under these conditions?
I am sure that most police officers whether they are black, white, asian or another race could confirm that these statistics are not just numbers – this is what they face on a daily basis as they attempt to do their job in protecting our communities as well as protecting themselves so that they can make it home safely to their families each night.
I was watching the Kelly File with Meghan Kelly on Fox last Thursday night and they were covering the relatively peaceful protest of two black men that were killed by police officers early in the week. I will never forget as the camera caught people running from something only to reveal two police officers laying dead on the ground and Meghan Kelly told them to turn the camera away. Those images will be seared in my mind for the rest of my life.
It is not about a skin color, it is about a culture
It is about a culture where 67% percent of its children are born to single mothers. It is about a culture that while being only 13 percent of the population – it produces 50 percent of all murders and manslaughters in the United States.
“Just because you can have a baby, it doesn’t mean you should,” Lemon said. “Especially without planning for one or getting married first. More than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock. That means absent fathers. And the studies show that lack of a male role model is an express train right to prison and the cycle continues.”
This “fatherless” black culture has directly resulted in these staggering crime rates:
Even though blacks only account for roughly 13 percent of the population they account for these percentages of crimes in United States:
50 percent of all murders and manslaughters
52 percent of all robberies
33 percent of all aggravated assaults
32 percent of all forcible rapes
So what this tells us is that we have a culture that represents a small percentage of our population, but disproportionately represents a very high percentage of our crime.
“Criminologists we contacted also told us that those absolute figures — when used correctly — tell only half the story. When talking about risks to society, it is equally important to provide the population-based rate. When we do that, the threat of violent crimes posed by blacks looks larger than that of whites.”
Economics are not an excuse for high black crime rates
The usual response from when many American black culture leaders(including Black Lives Matter leaders) are confronted with these statistics is that “this is all about economics”. If black people just made more money all of these problems would go away – or so we are told.
These crime rates by race and income below prove that the “economics” argument is a faulty answer to problem of disproportionately high rates of crimes among blacks:
https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/epr/99v05n3/9909levi.pdf
Slavery and past injustices are not an excuse either for high black crime rates
One of the biggest problems in the black community is a large percentage of blacks see themselves as victims of injustice such as slavery or racist polices that followed slavery.
Were blacks victimized by whites in America in the past? Absolutely. I have written about the evils the system of slavery that was practiced in the United States:
“On the other hand, the slavery in practice in America was completely different than the slavery that was allowed by the Bible. Chains were a very a common occurrence with slavery in America. It was based on the false ideology that one race was less human than others and they could be enslaved if for no other reason than their race…
Besides American slavery being based on race – it massively failed the two tests of Biblical Slavery that I mentioned above. Africans were kidnapped from their homes. They were treated worse than animals and loaded on to ships without proper food, clothing and shelter. Many Africans died while on Ships coming to America. Many African women were raped by their owners, instead being given the full status of wives. They were often physically abused and even sometimes murdered. But because they were not considered fully human, no punishments were given.”
My point in that post was that while Christians do not have to be ashamed of the slavery that God allowed Israel as a theocracy to practice we should be ashamed of the slavery that America practiced in its earlier days. My larger point though as it relates to this post is that of course we should fully acknowledge as Christians and as Americans the grave injustices committed against blacks in nation’s past.
We should also acknowledge that even after blacks were freed from slavery in America they were often treated unfairly by both government officials and private businesses. This unfair treatment lead to the Civil Rights movement lead by men such as Martin Luther King.
But it is a mistake for any black person today to blame their family, economic or criminal issues past wrongs of the American culture toward blacks. In the decades that followed the civil rights movement the American culture has basically bent over backwards to help blacks in America.
The Liberals War on Poverty actually helped cause the fatherless problem in the black culture
In his article entitled “7 Ways the War on Poverty Destroyed Black Fatherhood” author Nick Chiles writes:
“Welfare programs created disincentives for couples to get married because benefits are reduced as a family’s income rises. A mother will receive far more from welfare if she is single than if she has an employed husband in the home. For many low-income couples, marriage means a reduction in government assistance and an overall decline in the couple’s joint income — a reduction of benefits by an average of 10 percent to 20 percent of their total income. Because so many of the other programs low-income women rely on — such as food stamps, public housing, Medicaid and public day care — also carry a means test, single mothers are cut off from a wide range of government services if they decide to marry and subsequently raise their income. Over time, for many Black women in low-income neighborhoods, they see the father of their child(ren) as a less reliable breadwinner and partner than the federal government.”
http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/12/24/ways-war-poverty-destroyed-black-fatherhood/
But can we blame the fatherless family’s epidemic completely on welfare programs that dis-incentivized marriage? The answer is no. Ultimately black men and women made their own decision based on economic reasons to leave one of God’s greatest institutions in the dust bin. Black women decided they did not need black men anymore to have a family and black men decided they did not need marriage.
So what does this all have to do with the Dallas shootings?
The root causes of heinous murder of five Dallas police officers and the wounding of seven others has been falsely attributed anger in the black community over the police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
The problem is NOT unjust shootings of blacks by police officers. The problem is rampant out of control crime and a blatant lack of respect in the black community for themselves and for law enforcement officials.
My father always taught me from a very young age to respect my authorities. I was taught to respect my parents, my pastor, my teachers and also police officers. I was told if a police officer pulled me over to do everything he said and answer him with “yes sir and no sir”.
I actually was arrested as a young man when I was 17 years old. I had many speeding tickets and had an address change and did not receive a notice to retake drivers training. Because I did not respond to the notice my license was suspended without my knowledge. I was pulled over for speeding and then the officer asked me to get of car and he asked to me to put my hands behind my back and he placed me under arrest. I submitted respectfully to the officer as my father taught me to do even though I did not understand at the time what was happening.
Today many blacks have horrible and disrespectful attitudes towards police when they are pulled over. Even if they think the reason is unfair – two wrongs never make a right. You let the police officer do what he thinks he needs to do and if you disagree you can have your day in court. That is how our system works.
Because blacks often resist arrest bad things happen. That is just the truth of the matter. Many black men might not have lost their lives or been injured by police if they would have respectfully submitted to the police officer’s authority.
Perhaps these two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota were killed unjustly. But right now we don’t know the whole story. Could the one man have been resisting arrest? Could the other have been moving his hands around when the officer told him to keep his hands where he could see them? We will find out soon enough.
The ugly truth that the black community and black culture must come to grips with is that even if those two shootings were not justified – Police officers have every right to have a bias toward blacks based on the crime statistics I showed previously as well as the statistics offered in this article from the Wall Street Journal:
“Police officers—of all races—are also disproportionately endangered by black assailants. Over the past decade, according to FBI data, 40% of cop killers have been black. Officers are killed by blacks at a rate 2.5 times higher than the rate at which blacks are killed by police.
Some may find evidence of police bias in the fact that blacks make up 26% of the police-shooting victims, compared with their 13% representation in the national population. But as residents of poor black neighborhoods know too well, violent crimes are disproportionately committed by blacks. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, blacks were charged with 62% of all robberies, 57% of murders and 45% of assaults in the 75 largest U.S. counties in 2009, though they made up roughly 15% of the population there.
Such a concentration of criminal violence in minority communities means that officers will be disproportionately confronting armed and often resisting suspects in those communities, raising officers’ own risk of using lethal force.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-myths-of-black-lives-matter-1468087453
How can we blame police officers who may have some bias toward blacks when they constantly hear over the police radio “suspect is black male….”
How can we blame police officers for having even unconscious bias toward blacks in suspicious situations when 40% of cop killers are black even though they only make up 13% of the population?
How can we scream “racist” toward police officers who day in and day out see the utter disrespect that blacks show toward themselves and toward law enforcement officers?
What is the solution to this crisis that we face with the black community and conflicts with police officers?
There are two long term solutions to help reduce crime in the black community.
Long Term Solution 1# – Encourage the rebuilding of the black family unit
“Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”
I Corinthians 7:2 (KJV)
We need to support ministries and initiatives that encourage abstinence and marriage in the black community. My church supports black ministers that act almost as missionaries to inner cities to do just this. By encouraging strong families with father’s present to love, teach and discipline their children we will help to bring about a new generation of black men that will have greater respect for themselves and for their authorities (parents, teachers, and police officers).
Long Term Solution 2# – Discourage dependence on government
“For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”
II Thessalonians 3:10 (KJV)
We need to discourage dependence on government and instead encourage self-reliance and this applies not only to the black community but to all races in America. People need to learn the value of working hard for their own money and not expect government handouts. Blacks, whites and all races need to learn to be content even if they are poorer.
But while the longer term solutions are being implemented we must face the realities of today with broken families and high crime rates in the black community.
Below are two short term solutions that should be implemented now.
Short Term Solution 1# – Get blacks back into church
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.“
Hebrews 10:25 (KJV)
Even if blacks come from broken homes there are solutions we can try to help in the short term. I don’t have the stats handy but I am sure they out there. I have read before that blacks that are raised in church and faithfully attend church even with single mothers have a much lower chance of getting into crime and other types of trouble. As Christians we need to encourage our black neighbors to get back to church. The Church I attend while being primarily white does have blacks as well and we encourage all races to attend our church. This is the way all churches should be.
Ultimately we want to see blacks, as we do all people, come to Christ. A black man who has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in his heart and wants to serve God is going to be far less likely to get into crime than a black man without Christ. He is going to want to get married and raise his family in a way that honors God.
Short Term Solution #2 – Support law enforcement officers and get tough on crime
“2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
Romans 13:2-4 (KJV)
I don’t care if you are white, black, Hispanic or Asian. If a police officer tells you to do something – you do it. If he asks you a question – you answer it. If he tell you to keep your hands where he can see them – you do it. If he arrests you – you allow him to do that. If you feel you were mistreated – save it for the judge. If “stop and frisk” measures reduce crime in any city – than we need to support these measures. And the most important thing is – we need to ALWAYS given our police officers the benefit of the doubt in any use of force situation. They risk their lives day in and day out for our safety as a culture and we owe them that respect and appreciation for what they do.
Conclusion
The black community does not have an economic problem – it has a family problem and it has a respect problem as a result of breakdown of the family.
I pray that God will be with the families of the five police officers that were killed and the seven others that were wounded by this mad man.
I also pray that our nation and especially the black community will wake up to the fact that the problem is not with police officers – but it is with the black community itself. The black community needs to look inward and do some serious self-reflecting.
As whites and other races, we cannot go in and fix the black community. All we can do is support black leaders who want to do the things I mentioned above whether it is financially supporting their ministries or just offering them moral support and of course keeping them in our prayers.
Biblical Gender Roles 
There is but one CURE for the dismal state of affairs in the black communities – return their Christian faith to them. If the good behavior, associated with the Christian faith, is once more embraced by black men, just as it was when MLK marched on Washington in the 1960s, ALL of these problems would disappear within one generation. Prayer must be re-instituted in public schools because the violent ideology of radical Islam has filled this void, causing even more violence among young black men. These problems were started by welfare and liberal government programs which shattered families, but the churches failed their communities too when they ignored immoral behavior by young people and supported government handouts, thereby abdicating their principle role as CHARITABLE organizations to the soulless government agencies which require no moral, spiritual or ethical accountability.
so in short, its okay to racially profile black people? so that means its okay to assume every male is a rapist or that every white male is a serial killer or mass shooter.
also, its called systematic oppression and white privilege and supremacy. If you do not understand the struggle then you can sit there and tell people how they should feel.
Sapphire, absolutely I believe in using race as part of profiling. If we know that in certain areas people of a certain race who are dressed a certain way are more likely to be involved in crime and by doing thing illegal things then by all means police should use race as a factor in profiling criminals.
Stop and frisk in new York City resulted in drastic reductions in crime before they had to stop because of claims if racism.
Now since they stopped stop and frisk crime is jumping back up in ny
Keep in mind, Sapphire, this isn’t just against black males (particularly young black males). While touring my hospital’s labor and delivery unit in preparation for my son’s birth, we were educated that most baby abductions (from hospitals at least) were done by white, overweight women who most likely had either recently lost a baby or struggled with infertility. That doesn’t mean that we hate women, white people, infertile people, or fat people; but it DOES mean that we use our heads to try to prevent crimes. We owe it to our babies and, to the bigger picture that this article addresses, humanity in general. People who speak out against the use of simple logic like this are just as likely to become victims of crimes as people like BGR. They aren’t doing themselves any favors.
People need to face facts and stop making things up. The 5 policemen were the ones who did nothing wrong, not Johnson (the shooter). Why is everyone claiming “black lives matter” when the police shot Johnson only did it in defence/so no more people would be injured by him. The lives of the police matter too, you know.
There’s a reason why there are stereotypes. There is usually *some* truth to each stereotype. Stereotyping and racial profiling are just different forms of generalizations that we use all of the time.
There is a reason we are supposed to be set apart from ‘culture’ as Christians because culture is a very strong influence to shape people in certain ways. Some positive. Some negative.
Operating from a point of stereotyping in terms of safety is good, as long as you keep an open mind to any individual person that you come across.
okay. this is absolutely ridiculous. considering that in most cities (and the country for that matter) 50% or more of black men are unemployed and that black women are employed at a higher rate and educated at a higher rate than black men, then a black woman marrying wouldn’t increase her income but decrease it. So you’re advocating for black women to marry down?! Black women are already 10 times more likely to marry down than any other race and how’s that been going?
Secondly, black fathers have been absent from the lives of black children for generations. this isn’t new.
I do agree that black women need to stop having all these babies alone. It puts black women in a position to further perpetuate poverty among the black race but unlike your backward views, I think better access to ACCURATE sex education, contraception and free abortion is better way to go about that than the delusion of abstinence; never worked, never will. This will give her more time to educate herself at a higher level, earn more money and put herself into the path of a higher educated/earning black (or any other race) male that would be a better match than marrying down.
This article is very offensive to me as a black man. Essentially, what this article is saying is that a police officer has the right to racially profile me based upon numbers, statistics,A flawed welfare system, a broken family or what a police officer perceives as failure to respond appropriately. And then trying to use the Bible to defend these strawman theories is reprehensible. It was reasoning like this that originally had people believing that the Bible taught that black people were inferior. What this article clearly highlights is that this country has a perception problem when it comes to race. White people have the benefit of being viewed as individuals, while black people are viewed as a whole. When A heinous crime is committed by a black person, every black person in the country is viewed through the lens of that event. However, when A crime is committed by white person, they are viewed as individuals. That is why black people, men in particular, are seen as thugs, but white man are not viewed as a whole as mass murderers. It would be nice if there was an article by a Christian man or woman who did not look at the murders of black people by police and essentially say that the fault lies with the people who are being murdered. There is nothing that shows the love of Christ more than a person pulling out statistics and saying that you are the reason why your people are getting murdered.
It is troubling reading the reply that the author wrote about racially profiling. The “stop and frisk” law was humiliating, robs a man of his dignity and sends a not-so-subtle message that people like *you* i.e., black, are more likely to be a criminal. This reinforces racial stereotypes to non-minority citizens, cops and is unfair to a population that is not even the largest minority in The country.
Jonathan,
I am sorry that you feel the way you do. Let me tell you something if whites committed murders and robberies in proportion to their population in the way blacks do and blacks had a very low crime rate and respect for authority you would not see a lot of the issues you do today. The lesson that all people should learn whether white, black or any other race is – if you resist arrest or disobey the orders of a police officer or make him fearful for his life by your actions(such as appearing to reach for a gun when he told you to keep your hands where he could see them) you might just loose your life.
Jonathan – none of these killings by police officers that we are talking about in recent years are murder. Killing someone because you fear for your life as a police office is NOT murder. You may find out later the threat was not as real as the officer thought it was – but it was not murder. In the worst case most wrongful police shootings are accidents at best and manslaughter at worst.
Jonathan,
If stereotyping by police radically reduces crime the way stop and frisk in NY did then I and most Americans would be all for it. Better to be humiliated than to be robbed or murdered. Believe it or not there are black people in many of these neighborhoods that welcome a tougher approach by the police – because it saves black lives more than any in most cases.
A few things:
Your inference that “black people” don’t respect authority and is a valid reason for murdering them is troubling, offensive and ignorant.
Secondly, your statement suggesting that people would be ok if we just follow their rules is belied by the fact that people were murdered by police after following their instructions. There were many examples of that within the past month.
Next, MANY of the killings of this year have, indeed, been murder. But even taking your qualifications of wrongful death and manslaughter, the frustration is that these police officers are never brought to justice. Unarmed Black men are being killed at a much higher rate than any other race. Black men are killed it five times the rate and the other race despite the fact that we make up only 6% of the population.
Next, it is quite arrogant to state that most Americans would vote for police to randomly frisk them. That is very easy to say when you are not a part of the race that has been victimized for decades at the hands of the police. Whether you care to admit it, Black people have been victimized by police throughout the history of this country. Do a little research. Read a book. Learn your history.
There was much more about your response to me and the general tenor of your article that is concerning, especially for someone who names the name of Christ. And I realize that I could write an entire book of comments to you and it won’t allow you to see the reality of what it is like to be a black person in America nor will it show you why what you were saying is so disturbing and inflammatory. I hope one day that you will display the love, compassion, empathy and brotherhood that the book to purport to read talks about. Because right now, you are, at worst, a racist bigot, and at best, racially insensitive.
BGR, I agree with much of this post, but maybe you’d appreciate a police wife’s opinion on the “bias” thing. We often have an intimate view into the hearts of our husbands who wear the badge, and this particular issue is heartbreaking to me.
All the officers we know personally try not to have a bias against anyone just because of their race or skin color. That doesn’t mean that if a suspect matches the description of someone they see on the street that they won’t question them for fear of appearing racist, it just means that they don’t see a person who’s black, and automatically think they’re a criminal. They would adamantly refuse to be like that – at least the ones we know.
We have quite a few black police officers in our department, and who are friends of ours ❤ – they are so wonderful, sweet, kind, and so full of love for the people they serve (the general thankless public). I've spoken with 2 of our black officers since last week, trying to encourage them, and could not BELIEVE the strength, dignity and fortitude they expressed so graciously to me. They have no hatred for the cop killers, but still want to love and serve the very people who take them for granted or villianize them.
But even with that said, all your statistics are true and all police and their families know this from experience. But again, I don't believe they allow themselves to have a "bias" against blacks, my husband and the police we know would definitely say they don't allow themselves to. They try to do their jobs, save people in need – regardless of the sexual orientation, religion, or skin color. They are our heroes… heroes we could never deserve, but the heroes we need.
Stephanie,
When I talked about bias – I don’t think most officers pull someone over or go to check someone ONLY because they are black. They also take age and clothing and the way the person is acting into account. I know you think there is no bias – but I know of officers who work in inner cities that see the pretty horrible things in black neighborhoods on a daily basis that will privately admit they have some bias. But even the officers with some bias will not just stop someone because they are black – there are usually other factors about the person in addition to their race in a certain neighborhood that may cause the officer to check them out.
The fact is that “stop and frisk” in New York city did have race as one part of their profile – but they also had age and clothing as part of it as well. They were not stopping and frisking black men that wore suits they worked on wall street. And we know for a fact that race as part of profiles for crime prevention did work to reduce crime in NY.
There are many wonderful black people and in no way would I think every black person is a criminal and nor would 99% of police officers today. But I still maintain that even if there is some bias that bias is well founded. I also think the bias does not have to do with things like planting evidence or things like that. When I say bias I mean exercising more caution. I think that officers will exercise more caution in certain situations when a person is black in addition to be dressed a certain way and acting a certain way.
Also as an interesting side note – you spoke of black officers. Did you know black officers are more likely to shoot black suspects than white officers?
http://www.dailywire.com/news/7264/5-statistics-you-need-know-about-cops-killing-aaron-bandler
Stephanie – I believe in being honest and I talk about some uncomfortable truths on this site all the time. To be bias is to be human. While there are more interracial marriages in the post civil rights era, the vast majority of whites still marry whites and the vast majority of blacks still marry blacks. Even when it comes to neighborhoods, entertainment establishments and churches people most people still tend to flock toward people of their own race. For instance my church is is probably 95% white with only 5% black. But if you go a few miles down the road you will find a church that is 95% black and maybe only 5% white. Most neighborhoods are the same way. You will find exceptions here and there. My point is that I do not believe there will ever come a time when we will completely eliminate racial bias in the same way we will never eliminate poverty.
Stephanie,
One other thing I wanted to mention – my church while being 95% white reguarly works with churches that are 95% black – giving the financial and other ministry assistance. In fact last year we worked to help an Arabic Baptist church – that is the first one I have ever heard of it. That was a very interesting experience for our church folks.
“The fact is that “stop and frisk” in New York city did have race as one part of their profile – but they also had age and clothing as part of it as well. They were not stopping and frisking black men that wore suits they worked on wall street. And we know for a fact that race as part of profiles for crime prevention did work to reduce crime in NY.”
You’re right. I guess I didn’t understand that you meant “exercised more caution.” You’re right that they have to exercise more caution unfortunately, because of their experience, but also the situation in our country with the media automatically calling for their jobs.
Did you see the interview where officers of the NYPD revealed that they are told to target black and Hispanic males that are between the ages 14 and 21 (and if they don’t, then they get in trouble/fired)?
You say, it’s not about race it’s about culture. I don’t identify with any of the negative stereotypes of a black American female (always angry, fake hair, kid outside of wedlock, etc.).
It doesn’t matter how educated I am, how well I dress, or how well I speak. I still get followed in the store or I get told “You can’t afford to shop here”. That’s not fair to discriminate based on the way I look. And if you think that’s okay, then it shouldn’t bother you when I say that white people are bad dancers who like mayo and any white female with blonde female is dumb.
Ash,
Your Statement:
Ash – I don’t agree with anyone telling you that “you can’t afford to shop here.” that is not right. However just as police officers have the right based on their experience and statistical probability to profile with race as a factor so too stores do as well. If most of the thefts in a particular store are committed by black women(I am just giving an example) then it is only logical that security in stores will focus more on black women. I understand your feelings – you know you would never steal or do any of those things. But unfortunately because many blacks do you get check out more.
This is why it does not bother me that Hispanic and black males between the ages of 14 and 21 are profiled in NY. If it helps to prevent crime make people safer to profile those in a range most likely to commit crimes then so be it.
You comment about blondes being dumb does not hold water. Blondes being dumb does not endanger society. If we know that a certain ethnic, racial or religious group is more known for certain types of negative behavior then we must profile them. This also applies to whites. I have no problem with the FBI profiling and infiltrating skin head organizations, or white militias that might do crazy things.
I totally understand that profiling may not feel good to the people being profiled – but sometimes if you are part of a demographic that is known for a certain problem(such as blacks with murders and robberies and Muslims with terrorism) then you will be profiled. Removing profiling only makes everyone less safer(including blacks and Muslims).
Yeah BGR, like KQ said! You took their religion away, now give it back to them!
based on that all white mans should be approached with caution cause you may be murders,rapists,kidnappers or cannibals or school shooters