By Melissa Alexander
“Enough is enough, when is it going to stop.” This is the cry of minorities when one of us is shot and gunned down in an under-served community in America. The truth is that the victims are far too many to count. State resolutions on guns and other weapons are not effective and, obviously, not the answer.
There seems to be no way out for Black and Brown people in most of the underfunded communities, especially because the community is up against community barriers. It’s like being on a deserted island and waiting for someone to come for us to be rescued.
But no one is coming.
Moreover, there are not many or very few programs that are geared toward reaching out to individuals like us, who feel that this world has no hope and empathy.
I still remember that in 2011, my nephew was gunned down on the block where I lived. He was shot in the head during a drive-by. His story was featured on the news, but to date, there are still over 25 Black males, particularly young Black men, gunned down on the same city streets. Sadly, the authorities are not presenting any resolution, which is very disappointing. It really shows the disparities in the social system of races and classes. What’s funny is that police are placed on different corners of the street, especially in the toughest neighborhoods, where the gun violence is high but gunshots still ring out even in their presence. So you can put 100 police on the street, that will not reduce the violence in the county.
Police are only there to react. Money has to be put in prevention. If you want to talk about violence, you have to talk about economics. The police themselves cannot deter gun violence.
Other than gun violence, we’ve seen the unequal and negative treatment of Black and Brown Americans in society. For example, in 2021, 18-year old Kyle Rittenhouse, a white male, murdered two people and was acquitted and viewed as a hero. While in 2016 Philando Castile, a legally armed Black male, was pulled over for a routine traffic stop, complied with the procedure, but was murdered by a police officer, and his death was viewed as justified. There is really a disparity in every aspect when it involves people of color.
The call of action is always the same. Someone will pass a bill regarding tougher gun laws, but these laws are only a Band-aid solution to the issues. I do not have the power to stop the actual violence but I know what needs to be done. I suggest the legislative branch of the government must address and end the social and economic inequalities that are the primary root causes of gun violence that impacted communities of people of color. Opportunities and hope must be given to them, with these steps the communities will become more progressive. Otherwise you will continue generation after generation filled with hopelessness, nothing out here to live for. On this very day of April 13, 2022, on Forest Street and Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City, yet another young man was shot multiple times and for what, I ask.
This is also the reason why I founded the John Randy Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides supportive services to the homeless, at-risk youth, and those in need in under-served communities. Together with our supportive partners, we will never stop helping these groups. Our community deserves better and working together we can do it.
Melissa Alexander of Bayonne is the founder of the John Randy Foundation of Jersey City. For information, go to johnrandy.com.
Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.
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