I had another student die because of gun violence recently. Walking around the school is always an uncanny experience after a death. There is this mix of trauma and amusement.
In this case, the 16-year-old was killed by a 24-year-old (also a former student). The murderer’s sister was pulled out of school almost immediately because she started receiving death threats.
On top of this, seemingly due to the trauma of losing her son to the prison system, the mother killed herself…leaving the sister to find her body.
Within a week, the details spread. Some students shed tears. Some made jokes, most notably about how the bodies of the 16-year-old and the mother would’ve reacted to the bullets.
I was saddened to hear about one conversation in which a boy chastised his younger brother for crying and being angry over the 16-year-old’s death. “You didn’t even know him like that.”
The younger sibling tried expressing his feelings to a different teacher. “I saw him every day. We were in the same classes and the same groups.”
I get it.
He was there, and now he is gone due to a senseless, avoidable act.
The younger sibling is experiencing human emotions, but we, especially Black men and boys, are taught to push them down and hide them.Instead, that pain is replaced with jokes.Unfortunately, this feeds into a deadly cycle. Death loses meaning. We are reinforcing the narrative that Black boys don’t matter. We are, in a way, contributing to the dehumanization of Black boys.
Drill rap
I was listening to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg when I was 6 years old. By the time I was 10, Tupac was the biggest name in Hip Hop. I remember the violent bars, the disrespect, and the threats of the time.
I remember the deaths of Tupac and Biggie. These were stars who died due to senseless violence. The beef was in the music, but the deaths still felt like an anomaly. People cared.
I sometimes look back at those times and ask myself if I’m looking through rose-tinted glasses.Perhaps, but I look at the drill rap scene and know that things were never that bad in Hip Hop when I was growing up.
Drill rap is popular among many of my students. It is, in its simplest form, characterized by lyrics based on real gang violence. In many cases, the rappers are talking about real murder and revenge killings. Most of these “drill rappers” are just kids who are not particularly rich or famous. Want to take a guess what happens when you brag about killing people on a song?
You end up dead.
I don’t listen to drill rap or follow it closely, but I can’t count how many drill rap deaths I’ve heard about over the last several years. Again, we are talking about kids.
Last year, two of my students completed a project on Bloodhound Lil Jeff. They were enamored with the young man because of his high “body count.”He supposedly killed 11 people and seemingly started a gang war over a stolen chain.
Jeff went on what is called an active drill (a planned attempt to murder a specific target). Video footage shows Jeff chasing and shooting at the target, but he was led into an ambush. He was shot 19 times by hidden shooters.
Needless to say, the project wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but it reminded me of the cold passion in the drill scene. There was no sense of loss in my student’s eyes. It was closer to envy. Look at the life he was allowed to live for a few moments.
Jeff was practically a grandpa in drill years. Many kids start before they are out of middle school.
Notti Osama was a 14-year-old drill rapper who died in a similar fashion to Jeff, chasing a rival gang member and then being stabbed to death.
Notti’s death became a popular dance track called the Notti Bop. The dance mimics a victim being stabbed. There are even TikTok videos of oblivious teachers doing the dance.
Sadly, some of my students mimic this glamorized lifestyle. I had two students who were relatively popular (at least among their classmates) for their music. They even have songs on Spotify about sex, drugs, and violence. They started making this stuff when they were in middle school,
I called one mom to tell her that her son was failing my class. She said, “I can’t get him to do anything.”
I suggested she take away his music equipment.
“Oh no, I can’t do that. He needs that to make money.”
That was the last time I called that parent. Last week, the same student was arrested after stealing a car and driving it into someone’s house while trying to escape the police.
I understand the social factors that put kids in these positions. I can even understand the poor decisions. I don’t understand the coldness. I don’t understand the lack of emotion for dead classmates.
Unfortunately, most of this is old news for me. I was compelled to write this after hearing my students talking about Hood Warfare 2.
Hood Warfare
Hood Warfare 2 is a video game in which you join a gang and kill other young Black boys. The creators are still anonymous, but based on the trailer alone, I can only assume they are white. If not, a child made this.
Nevertheless, this type of game was inevitable. There is even a game mechanic about snatching chains, an action that can spark an entire gang war.The obsession with violence in video games combined with the glorification of violence and dehumanization of Black youth creates the perfect breeding ground for games like this.
Mix this with a disdain for Black people online, and you have a game multiple groups can enjoy. My Black students get a kick out of this game, and I’ve seen racists online receiving equal levels of joy for different reasons.
I’m not completely opposed to a game like this existing if it had something to say, if it was satire. If it pointed at the ridiculous nature of gangs…colors, hand signs, dying for no reason. Instead, it all feels glorified specifically for 14-year-old eyes. (And racist eyes, but that is a different story.)
I want to be clear. I hate that this game exists, but I respect freedom of speech. The market asked for it, and the game is making money. If no one wanted it, it would disappear. Instead, be ready for sequels that will turn every stereotype up a notch.
We have to stop giving them this kind of power.
Black people and gangs
Most of you reading this know that most Black people are not affiliated with gangs in any way.However, I’ve been around enough to know some people think all Black people are in some perpetual state of violence.
From my experience, the kids who are in gangs usually have nothing.They don’t want to die, but they have nothing else to live for. Also, I’ve learned the real killers aren’t going around the school bragging about the lifestyle in front of teachers. Sometimes the noise makes the problem seem larger.
However, the problem is a big one. Kids are dying before they can grow up and realize they are being stupid. The glorification reinforces the lifestyle. The dehumanization numbs the pain.
We can change it.
The humanization and glorification of Black youth
I am in charge of the Black History Club at my school.I expect to hit over 100 students next year. It is a lot of work for zero pay, but I am constantly moved by the passion of the kids and what they produce.
I have relatively strict requirements, but mostly to limit slots right now. I can only do so much. The kids make everything happen because they care. (I may write about it someday if people are interested.)
I bring this up to remind people of what a majority of Black kids are like. When interviewing one student for president of the club, she explained her schedule. She was taking advanced classes, additional classes, in additional clubs, and working two jobs. She is in the eleventh grade. She loves growth, and she wants to strengthen the community.
We don’t talk about these Black kids enough.
Yes, there are a lot of Black boys dehumanizing each other and themselves; yes, violence is an issue in that world. However, I refuse to let the Black kids who are trying to change the world go unnoticed.
I say let’s do better. Well, these kids are working on that.