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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The goal of this article by Stark was to review misconceptions and facts about black involvement in violence.
METHODOLOGY:
A nonexperimental review of the literature was employed for this study.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
It was stated that it is a common belief that blacks are more prone to violence. Substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and female-headed households were listed as factors thought to be contributing to the phenomena. Because of these beliefs, such support programs as AFDC, Medicaid, and other basic services have been frozen or cut even though most recipients do not remain dependent on them over the life course or have nontraditional family orientations. Blacks have been found to comprise more than half of those arrested for murder, rape, robbery, and aggressive assault; this applies for adults as well as juveniles. Victims of violent crimes were also more likely to be black. Between the ages of 15 and 44, black males were ten times more likely to be homicide victims than white males, and black females were five times more likely to be homicide victims than white females. 1 in 21 young black males were found to be victims of homicide by the age of 25. One picture of the black underclass focused on the increasing isolation of blacks in the inner city and the reinforcing facts of black on black violence and female-headed households. Violence-related arrests were argued to decrease the male marriage pool. In turn, there was an absence of strong male role models for children. Low self-esteem and self-hatred among black youth was another viewpoint which also argued that the absence of strong male models was devastating. Conservatives have focused on several views of so-called black dispositions ranging from biological deficiencies to pathological families. The author stated that the problem of a portrait of a violent black underclass is the fact that arrest and incarceration data are often used as the source for the argument, and these data may reflect biases in policing, court procedures (such as assignment of counsel and bail decisions), and likelihood of conviction and incarceration. Self report and victimization data have showed that the absolute number of violent whites is much higher than for blacks, and the propensity of adult black males to commit violent crimes is higher than that for white but at nowhere the rate suggested by official data. It was also stated that black people were several times more likely to be victims of homicide than any other demographic group but the likelihood for victimization by assault was not higher for black males than for white males. National Youth Survey data showed that blacks were not consistently nor significantly different than their white counterparts. The drug-violence connection was also challenged in that studies have shown that whites use more drugs, particularly harder drugs. The argument that blacks have shown more violence because of more female-headed families was challenged because of the lack of longitudinal data supporting the female head-violence connection and the increased likelihood of children from black, female-headed households being arrested. Relatedly, though teenage pregnancy has been higher for black girls than white girls, the rate for white teenage pregnancy increased four times as rapidly as for black girls in the last 30 years. Childhood poverty was said to be more explainable by low wage jobs for women than for single-headed households. The argument was made that "family breakdown" through divorce actually may reduce violence by getting women out of violent situations and, thus, decreasing the homicide victimization and offense rate for black women. The question of what accounts for the higher rates of incarceration and murder rates among black people was answered in this way: society's perception of and response to violence in the black community encourages the maintenance of a belief of blacks as violence-prone. It was argued that this results in the labeling of minor infractions as a representation of a "generic criminal type" (488). Additionally, it was said that violent crimes committed by those who do not fit the imagery are publicized in ways that reinforce racist imagery. Overresponse to black teenagers by police was also described as a culprit in disproportionate incarceration rates and a symptom of the belief in a violence prone black community. At the same time, it was claimed that this belief allows more violence among black adults to be tolerated, a point dramatically made in the treatment of domestic violence. In viewing that black violence is somehow inevitable, the criminal justice system was said to provide inadequate police protection through racial bias. In general, the myth of black propensities to violence was said to have resulted in continued discrimination in employment opportunities and low self-esteem which compounds the fight against the real violence and hopelessness that do exist on the streets.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author recommended the reduction of interpersonal assault in the black community through intermediate steps including gun control, early intervention in abusive interpersonal relationships, empowerment of female-headed households, removal of racial, sexual, and economic barriers in employment, redesign of public spaces for increased safety, and teaching of conflict resolution skills in all schools. Most of all, the author advocated the disengagement of the myth of black violence from the real threats that face the black community.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
African American Adult
African American Juvenile
African American Male
African American Offender
African American Violence
Juvenile Violence
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Male
Juvenile Substance Use
Adult Substance Use
Adult Male
Adult Offender
Adult Violence
Public Perceptions
Perceptions About Offender
Racial Stereotype
Racial Factors
Sociocultural Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Social Class
Class Factors
Violence Perceptions
Violence Causes
Single Parent
Alcohol Use Effects
Drug Use Effects
Substance Use Effects
Juvenile Pregnancy
Prejudice
Family Relations
Environmental Factors
Offender Characteristics
Violence Against Women
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