In her Ten Essential Elements of Dignity Dr. Donna Hicks PhD defines safety as “physical and psychological. Physical threats need no explanation, but psychological threats are more complicated. Honoring others’ psychological safety means not shaming, humiliating, diminishing, or hurtfully criticizing them, especially, but not limited to, violations that are public.”
This element of dignity becomes even more important when we read about the mass shootings that happened in our inner cities across America during the July 4th weekend. Baltimore, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Austin, Texas have been the focus of both local and national news. Even the streets of Boston that I walked through as a child in the seventies is now called Murder Triangle. Some may be wondering what is going on in our cities across the nation. I want to let you know that these types of shootings have been going on and increasing since 2020 and the main victims of these shootings are Black people.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Homicides are the fifth leading cause of death among Black people. It is the leading cause of death among black males ages 1-44, the second leading cause of death among Black females ages 1-19, and the third leading cause of death among Black females ages 20-44. In a recent article written in the Boston Globe (June 21, 2023- Why you should visit Boston’s ‘murder triangle’) The residents in the Back Bay life expectancy are 23 years longer than those in Roxbury even though they are 2 miles apart. The leading cause of this is the increase homicides among Black people.
This is information that is not talked about much and I can understand why. It is hard to hear and difficult to wrap your minds around. I want you to imagine living in these cities as a young Black person thinking that there is no hope. I know it to be true because it was how I felt as a young man. It led me to run away from the city I called home and from my family who I loved. I have lost friends and family because of violence. It is hard for me to understand how people so young are taken from us in a senseless way. We do not talk about it enough. The foundation of our community is the growth of our young people. What hope do we have as a Black community when we are losing our young people way before their time.
This is a difficult subject to talk about. I know that when people read my messages, they look for hope. But I feel it is important to be honest. We yell from the roof tops when we feel a court decision is unjust. We yell from the roof tops when we see injustices in health care. We should do these things when we recognize injustices. Our young people are dying in the streets of our cities and our cries should be just as loud and our anger just as strong.
Nelson Mandela said, “Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”
Today and every day I will speak for those who will not get the chance to have the opportunities that I have had. I will speak for those who live every day in our inner cities trying to do what is right. We can no longer except that this is the destiny of our Black community to die in the streets of our cities.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 