JEFF JOHNSON SAYS IT’S TIME FOR MEN TO TAKE RADICAL STEPS IN ORDER TO SAVE OUR STREETS:
EBONY MAG: Recently there has been significant chatter on Twitter and other social media about the violence taking place in Chicago and what our community should be doing about it. Most of us want to take action, but don’t seem to have a firm grasp on what the solution might be. There is no shortage of potential solutions that can have an impact on violence, but there is a glaring issue in the streets of urban America that I have not heard discussed by many, if by any.
Where is the positive army of men committed to defending civilians in urban communities?
I think back to a time when more men were in family homes than now. Fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and brothers prepared to defend the women and children in their homes, in their families and even on their blocks, and this was an organized and cultural value that existed for generations until recently (the last 10 years). From the men that stood watch over families from Reconstruction to the ‘50s, to the Nation of Islam of Elijah Muhammad and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense of the ’60s, to the Guardian Angels of the ‘70s, and the Nation of Islam under the leadership of Minister Farrakhan that led us into the Million Man March of 1995. There has consistently been a group of Black men committed, recognizable, TRAINED, and willing to stand in the gap. It did not mean that there was never crime, gangs, police brutality, gangstas, or violence. Read more
