Last Saturday a young woman lost her ability to trust in her community. At least 20 of her peers, all young men, watched as she was brutally raped and beat after her high school homecoming dance. Some present even used their cameras phones to document their savage attempt to steal any semblance of innocence, trust and strength within her.
This attack is an indictment of all of us. I charge us all with our failure to educate and empower the young men in our community to be MEN. Sexual assault and sexual violence must be addressed in all of our work.
As a community we must stand up for our young people, male and female, and say will not tolerate this type of behavior. No longer can young men be allowed to standby while a young woman is being raped.
Many say that just shouting out from the rooftops will not make change, but teaching our young people and becoming role models for just behavior is one step in the right direction.
Young men are often the focus of violence prevention efforts, particularly boys of color are targeted as the most at-risk population. This is due to the fact that the majority of victims and those arrested for violent crimes in Oakland and Richmond are young men of color.
Unfortunately almost none of these interventions have any focus on the violence, disrespect and institutional sexism our young women face. What work are we doing to stop men from harming their sisters, cousins, nieces and mothers?
Yesterday at a violence prevention conference, hosted by the California Wellness Foundation, Too Short (a.k.a. Todd Shaw) spoke on a panel regarding police and community relations. It was impressive to have a celebrity on the panel, especially one from East Oakland, talking about violence prevention and the need for better relations between the community and the cops. But no one on the panel or in the other three that I attended discussed the violence experienced by young women because of sexism.
It seemed clear that Too Short, who raps about partying and street life, would take some note that young men who listen to his music can and are affected by his lyrics. I’m not going to get into a rap hating game, because that is not what this is. I love rap music, but I also know it’s a form of entertainment and education.
If we can acknowledge that our youth are mis-educated, then we must also step up and try to re-educate them in a way that will change their assumptions that their primary teacher, the media, provides them.
Sadly enough this isn’t only a local tragedy, but a national phenomenon. We are watching young people rape and kill each other and no one does a thing to stop it. In Chicago last month, a young man got caught in a gang fight on his way to school. While he was being beat to death in broad daylight, people just watched. And, again, some even had the callousness to record it on their phones, but not the bravery to stand up and save a life.
Where have we gone wrong?
The Contra Costa Times reported today that the sixth young man was arrested in the attack. The seventh is still at large. The article lists the names and ages of the men who participated in the attack. All are under 21 and most are juveniles (under 18).
We need violence prevention strategies that provide context to our young people about the sanctity of life. Obviously, in many cases, these lessons are getting through. Our violence prevention strategies need to be expanded to ensure a culture shift before this next generation becomes adults.
Understandably, change takes time but we can’t wait until the next funding cycle or the next tragedy to re-evaluate how we are working to prevent violence for ALL of our young people; perpetrators, victims and at-risk young people. All are equally important regardless of who gets arrested.
We need to do more to educate young men and women, on how sexual violence and sexual assault harm us all and that in silence none of us is safe.
How can Heal the Streets take ACTION on this?
The fellows were outraged by this story. Only a handful of the fellows actually knew about the tragedy, the others were stunned. Thao Smith, a senior at Mandela High School in Oakland, suggested that young men and women are taught streets smarts. She is doing research on what organizations locally or nationally have programs to offer her peers. Smith said, “I can’t believe something like that would happen. I’m even more shocked that they just watched.”
Through our policy advocacy efforts and political and skills training, the Heal the Streets Fellowship program is offering a space for young people to learn how to prevent situations like this. All young people — not just young men — need to be invested in and protected by our efforts for violence prevention.
