"If it ain't no hope for the youth..."

I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend with my best friend, Simone, in Washington D.C.  I had only been to DC one time before, but I was attending on Fraternal business and didn’t have much time to explore the city (real truth, I was under 21 with no ID).  I vowed to make this time different.

            On my final night in our nation’s capital, I witnessed something that both shocked and saddened me.  As she and I walked down 5^th street on our way to the movies, a group of police cars sped past us as though there was a serious emergency going on.  Being that D.C. isn’t much different than any other major city I’ve been in, I disregarded the sirens and continued to walk through the late night rain. As we turned the corner onto 7^th Street, I noticed that all of the police cars had come to a halt a few blocks ahead of us.  I thought to myself, “This should be interesting.”  As we continued to walk, our eyes were met with sights of America’s beautiful black youth. Their bright smiles and loud laughs illuminated the rainy DC night in a manner that caused an invisible rainbow to be formed in one’s mind.  Nothing could’ve kept them away, and they had every intention of enjoying one the first warm Saturday nights this year in DC.  Unfortunately, DC’s finest had other plans.

            It was if though the officers were invisible. The kids stood around enjoying one another’s company amidst the verbal assault of the officers in the area. Though they seemed to be disregarding the officers, the one look deep into the eyes of the youth revealed the growing disdain for the boys in blue.  The frustration the officer’s were experiencing was ever present on their faces and it was beginning to affect their attitude towards the older individuals in the area.  As Simone and I attempted to turn left and walk towards the movies, the officer glared and us and said “Don’t even think about it.”  Not wanting to cause any drama, we simply crossed the street and continued towards our destination.  As we completed the last leg of our journey to see “The Soloist,” we saw even more young teens being hassled by police officers and other individuals in uniform.  Needless to say, this all weighed heavily on my mind throughout the night.

            Yes, the children were loitering and probably shouldn’t have been out that late without parental supervision.  However, they really weren’t causing any type of disturbance on the sidewalk and were simply out enjoying one another’s company in a seemingly safe environment.  Would we prefer they be in dark alleys doing drugs and gambling? Or perhaps sleeping with one another while their parents are out?  I think not. Should they not be allowed to enjoy the same luxuries as other residents and visitors of DC?  Others on the street certainly weren’t being harassed.   America, we just elected a black president.  We have to do better by our black youth, especially in our nation’s capital. 

            I’m not knocking the officers for “doing their jobs,” because I’ve never been one to shoot the messenger.  Instead, I’m saying that there’s a larger problem at hand.  This “battle” will not be won on the front lines.  The treatment the youth get from the officers only increases the resentment for “authority” they pick up in other arenas.  The resources put into policing this area need to be reallocated to fight the “war on parenting.”

 I’m assuming that the majority of these kids were not homeless, so some adult willingly allowed them out of the house for the night.  If DC will not allow the youth to hang out in the nation’s capital, then this message must be hammered home with the parents.  While the kids are not stupid and know right from wrong, the ultimate responsibility for young teenagers lies on the shoulders of the parents.

 Let these officers, government officials and other individuals in the area make it crystal clear to the parents that such behavior will not be tolerated.  From there, all parties can possibly work towards a viable alternative for the late night hang outs.  Until then, the resentment will continue to grow and the problem increase exponentially. In the words of Tupac “If it ain’t no hope for the youth then the truth is it ain’t no hope for the future.” We’ve made it this far, let’s ensure a bright future for our beautiful youth.