Armstrong Williams: ‘What is going on in the Black community?

PUBLISHED: February 15, 2024 | UPDATED: February 14, 2024 at 12:22 p.m.

You know, this recent shooting in Kansas City is just so devastating, tragic, but it unfortunately paints an even more tragic picture, that a disproportionate number of Black youths are killing each other and others at staggering rates. It’s a tragic reality that we can’t ignore any longer.

What is going on in the Black community? Is it the breakdown of the family structure? A disproportionately high number of Black youths without fathers? Is it the lack of enforcement of laws by law enforcement? Is it relaxed laws created by the legislature? What’s creating this problem?

Just look at New York City, Chicago, look at Washington D.C., where three officers were shot. It’s always the same story, disproportionately young Black men shooting or killing Black men or other people. And the reality is that things are not getting better, they’re getting worse.

And look, it’s obviously not because they’re Black. No person innately is more violent than another. But what’s going on in society that’s creating this disproportionate problem? We need to find solutions. Otherwise, things will only get worse, and more and more young Black men will have no futures, and they’ll end up locked up and imprisoned.

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.