A Letter To The Young, Black & Reckless

I recently watched a City Council meeting where one of the business items for the council was deciding whether or not the city would revoke the business license of a night club whose primary market are young adults ages 19-23.  I listened as both parties presented their arguments as to who was right and why; and supporters for both sides were then given an opportunity to speak.

There were a few things mentioned that really disturbed me during the ‘trial’ that I’m still thinking about it…  For one, the club’s spokesperson, a local lawyer, presented their case, and in one instance he stated that none of the City police officers that are hired to work at the club could come to the ‘trial’ because their superiors told them that they couldn’t speak publicly about their experiences while working at the club at all.  Was this a gag order put in place?  The second and most disturbing statement came from a neighboring city’s police officer, who essentially stated that the youth are to blame for the club being a “death trap”.

The question that I’m asking myself over and over is, “Are the youth really to blame?”  I mean, it’s not likely that these young adults are showing up to this club with the sole intention of fighting, and if they are, then why?!

What’s the root cause of this issue?  My father once told me that the only thing that separated me from my cousins growing up was education.  I have to agree with that 100%.  I think about some of the foolish things that I did as a teenager, and I realize that the only thing that kept my teachers and administrators from losing hope and giving up on me was the fact that I was always a top performing student.  And then I further realized that I was a top performing student because I afraid that my father would beat my ass if I brought a “B” home; and because of the constant support shown to me, I didn’t want to disappoint my mother nor the rest of my family.  I then thought about why my family raised me and my sisters in this manner, and I realized that it’s because their parents instilled the same values in them.

Although growing up, I seemed to exude behaviors characteristic of a troubled youth, it was the values instilled in me, and the strong emphasis on education that allowed me to mature beyond making poor decisions that could have proved detrimental to my existence.

So what now?  Do we shut down all activities for teenagers because there’s a systemic failure in the households, in the passionless teachers in the schools, and in our public officials that would rather talk about a problem and take reactive measures, than create ways to address the root causes on a massive scale?  I decided about one year ago that I was tired of talking about the problem, and I wanted to create a way to address root issues so that I can then be apart of the solution.

So again I ask you, what now?  What are you going to do to aid in addressing the root issues; talk about the problem, or work to create a solution?

Peace.  Be blessed.  Be safe.

Marcus Carson