Colorlines.com unleashed a fascinating and vital infographic today, debunking widely-held myths about crime in the Black community.
“Five Myths About Crime in Black America—and the Statistical Truths” addresses five insidious myths; 1. Black-on-black crime is uniquely bad, 2. Violent crime is on the rise, 3. Justice is applied equally, 4. Black kids have behavioral problems, and 5. Crime is prevalent in the Black community.
In reality, most crimes involve people who know each other, violent crime is on the decline, enforcement policies disproportionately impact people of color, Black students are punished more harshly than their peers, and most Black youth aren’t committing any crimes!
Colorlines’ Shani O. Hilton explains why, in the wake of the Trayvon Martin tragedy, now is the perfect time to debunk these myths.
“There were hoodies, there were marches, and there were frank talks from parent to child about how to minimize the danger of being a young person of color. On the other side, there were justifications of George Zimmerman’s actions: a smear campaign against Martin’s character, and plenty of writers explaining that statistically, blacks are simply more dangerous to be around.
That framing ignores the realities behind the numbers.”
Why do you think such harmful myths about the Black community continue to persist?
Sound off below!