Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

“We’re the ones…”

Some prominent African Americans would prefer to ignore the AIDS crisis, but the recently released Black AIDS Institute report “We’re the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For” makes the case that indifference is irrational. The most startling statistic: half of all those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2004 were black, a 100 percent increase from the rate in 1985. On top of that, in 2004, 48 percent of all Americans living with AIDS were black.

There is no indication that this trend will be easily reversed. According to the report, 70 percent of all new teenage HIV/AIDS cases in 2004 were among blacks, compared with only 15 percent among whites and 13 percent among Latinos. Also in 2004, 50.78 percent of all those who died from AIDS were black.

The message of the report, as its title suggests, is that African Americans have to be ready to assume responsibility for changing their personal conduct to end this crisis. No one is coming to the rescue. There must be a dynamic effort to inform the community and induce people to alter behavior. It is also critical to assure that those who are infected receive appropriate treatment.

It is unacceptable to permit an avoidable disease to impair black progress.

Who protects the community?

Few personal relationships are as strong as the bond between parents and children. The desire to protect one’s offspring is so intense that some parents lose sight of the importance of discipline. When that happens, the whole community suffers.

Years ago, it was expected that parents would take responsibility for the public misdeeds of their children. If a boy broke a window, his father or an uncle would replace it. If a child damaged a neighbor’s property, someone in his family would repair it. Appropriate discipline of the offending child would follow.

When youngsters could not resolve personal conflicts among themselves, then parents would inevitably become involved. The objective was always to preserve the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. Constant physical conflicts among young men were considered offensive.

An important element of the self-policing strategy of the community was the special status of adults. Youngsters were expected to respect all adults, and even unrelated adults had the authority to reprimand, at least verbally, any public misconduct of youngsters. Of course, the manner and language of the reprimand had to be appropriate.

Times have changed from those days. Violence in television, films and computer games is common. Youthful conflicts that were once settled with the exchange of harsh words now spark gunfire. Mild rebukes of inappropriate youthful conduct can provoke a violent response by indignant parents. The social fabric necessary to maintain community civility has been irreparably torn.

Commonplace now is the irate protest of an indignant mother over the prosecution of her son for a violent crime when the evidence against him is overwhelming. Those who know and respect Rev. Bruce Wall are saddened and dismayed to see him come forward to assert publicly the innocence of his 15-year-old son in an armed robbery on Nov. 11 in Hyde Park. The son has not even been charged, but is only a person of interest.

Rev. Wall’s action is understandable as a parent, but it is somewhat intemperate as a community leader. The burden of leadership requires one to act for the highest good of all. The problem of parents harboring violent criminals who are their children is so significant that it would have been wiser for a leader not to appear to be sanctioning that conduct.

“Well, it’s not going away, so I guess we must do something.”