By Nisa Islam Muhammad, Staff Writer

More Black kids are being killed, leading many to pursue justice.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Black kids are being shot and murdered across the nation for no apparent cause. Boys and young men suffer greatly, but girls and young women are not immune to these disasters. Karon Blake, 13, was shot by a homeowner in Washington, D.C. for reportedly tampering with vehicles. A 16-year-old was killed after five teenagers were fired at a Baltimore retail centre. Families are suffering, and towns are incensed. In Jackson, Mississippi, a 15-year-old girl was recently wounded. What needs to be done to save Black children, keep them secure, and lead them to a brighter future?

“Community members must examine where they live,” We Our Us executive director Andrew Muhammad told The Final Call. “For example, if I live in a neighbourhood like Baltimore’s McCullough Homes, which has around 300 residents and is a housing initiative. If that’s my neighborhood, I know it’s filled with narcotics, guns, prostitution, crime, brutality, and destitution. “However, if I’m in that community as a conscious man or woman who cares about my community and my people, the first thing I have to do is make sure my house is in order,” Mr. Muhammad explained.

“My household becomes a model for my community,” he added. “They have something to look forward to, something to strive for.” They can see a different future for their family. The second step is for me to organize the community’s accountable citizens.”

Karon Blake, 13, died in the Brookland neighbourhood of Washington, D.C. A guy who came out of his house before 4:00 a.m. after hearing sounds shot the defenceless adolescent. The unnamed Black man claimed to have seen Karon and possibly others sneaking into cars while working for the D.C. government.

According to the authorities, after the man exited his house to investigate, “an interaction between a juvenile male and the male resident occurred,” and the man discharged his lawfully registered weapon, hitting Karon. The gunman also possesses a concealed-carry permit. There is no proof that Karon was equipped.

During a press briefing, Mayor Muriel Bowser said, “It’s a horrible situation.” “A 13-year-old boy died, and we don’t have all of the facts.” And the individuals in charge of collecting evidence and making charging judgements are working as quickly as they can.” She clarified that the individual who shot Karon is on administrative leave, as is customary whenever a municipal employee is suspected or charged legally.

The cops withholding the shooter’s identity has added insult to injury in this town. Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker organized a neighborhood town hall about the incident, which drew more than 200 people to Turkey Thicket Recreation Center. “Under any circumstances, no car or material possession is worth a life,” Mr. Parker said in a statement. “I join Ward 5 residents in urging the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office to hold the person responsible for Karon’s death accountable.”

At the town center, residents requested information about the shooting. Their rage exploded frequently, drowning out Assistant Police Chief Morgan Kane, who had arrived to address inquiries. Sean Long, Karon’s grandpa, informed Chief Kane and the audience that if the deceased had been White, the shooter would have been caught by now.

“I had no idea you could get a gun permit and shoot someone for tampering with a car,” Mr. Long explained. He begged the crowd to put an end to the shootings and bloodshed. “Bring us justice.” “Justice, please,” he demanded. “Do your job, and leave him to the jury.” Because if they don’t, you are all my witnesses, and people will be fighting on the street.”

Everything Assistant Chief Kane said seemed to irritate the crowd. The more she said, the noisier they became. Several presenters stated that there was nothing that could be said to appease the audience in the absence of disclosing the identity of the gunman. “The MPD (Metropolitan Police Department) has failed us once more,” said Kwasi Seitu, a former Ward 8 consultative neighborhood commissioner. The community has banded together to pursue justice for Karon.

“Why were cars more valuable than lives?” pondered Marion Harrison, a retired Brookland resident. “Other youth can do simple, crazy things and just get punished,” she told The Final Call. They can take vehicles and receive a caution, they can get inebriated and act out, and the cops will transport them home to their families. Why is it that Black kids are treated so harshly? Even among our own people, black teenagers are viewed as pests. Why do individuals believe they can shoot first and then pose questions? “Things need to change quickly,” she added. “Regardless of what they are accused of doing, black lives must be valued more than property.” Reduce Black youth’s unjustified dread. Gun owners must cease acting as both judge and juror.”

Karon Blake, a Brookland Middle School pupil, was fatally shot on January 7, following protests in Columbus, Ohio, in early January over the deadly shooting of another 13-year-old Black boy, Sinzae Reed. Sinzae was shot and murdered in October 2022 by a White male who has yet to face criminal charges.

According to Reuters in a December 2022 article, the increase in firearm-related fatalities among U.S. youth has taken a disproportionate toll on the Black community, which accounted for 47 percent of gun deaths among children and teens in 2020 despite representing 15 percent of that age group overall. Reuters cited a JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) article on the troubling truth confronting the Black community.

According to Reuters, firearm-related deaths increased by 108.3 percent among Black youth and 47.8 percent among young Whites between 2013 and 2020, with the largest rise happening between 2019 and 2020. Generations of young Black men, ages 15 to 24, are dying early from murder and suicide in the United States, according to a 2020 Journal of Black Studies released by SAGE.

According to the research, the ages of 15 to 24 years are the intersecting developmental phases of adolescence and early adults when premature mortality should not be anticipated. “The trauma and lost procreation opportunities caused by Black males’ premature deaths constitute a public health crisis in America.” Increased public health efforts are required to draw attention to a youthful racial-gender group that is dying five to six decades before their life expectancy, according to the research. “Mass suicide-homicide killings, premature deaths, and death disparities among young Black males ages 15 to 24 in the United States are not the result of paranoid propaganda. “It is surely a troubling public health catastrophe that necessitates an immediate national reaction in order to reverse and eventually eliminate the early mortality of young Black men.”

In his potent work, “The Fall of America,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, appealed with the Black community to make a positive change or face the repercussions. “We are on the verge of extinction,” he penned on page 2. “If we care about ourselves, our lives, our people, our race, the future of our properties, wives, and children, we must now and here make an agonizing reappraisal of our way of life,” wrote the Messenger.

“Justice is a common incident.” It is, however, illusive. Since the beginning of existence, men have pursued its significance and substance. Plato shrugged, saying that fairness was nothing more than the desire of society’s most powerful members. Jesus linked justice and unity. It was a question of compassion, according to Shakespeare. I am here to inform you that justice is the ultimate fulfilment of God’s will, as indicated by the basic principles of truth. “Justice is the antithesis of wrong; it is the weapon God will use to bring judgement on the world; it is the purpose and culmination of His coming.”

“Although we are God’s chosen people, the so-called American Negroes are the most deprived people on the planet,” he added. If justice had triumphed, there would be no need for a day of judgement to come today, to plead not to the unjust judges of the world, but to the just judge, to grant the Black man of America justice. Allah, God, is the just arbiter. The days of prejudiced justices are over. Even if it offends some, you must know the reality.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, plainly outlines what can happen “without a new state of mind in America” in “A Torchlight for America.” “Anarchy may await America as a result of the people’s daily injustices,” he wrote on page 41. “There can be no peace unless there is justice.” Without the truth, there can be no fairness. And there can be no reality unless someone stands up to communicate it to you.

“The Nation of Islam is willing to help.” We want to reason with the political and business leaders in the hopes of forming a collaborative endeavour that benefits us all. We want a new partnership in which we can collaborate for the greater benefit.”

—Rashida R. Muhammad and the Final Call team contributed to this story.