We are all prey: As long as Congress refuses to act, Black boys like Ralph Yarl will suffer
For Ralph Yarl, a simple mistake nearly cost him his life, but mishaps can be deadly for young Black boys in this country.
Yarl, 16, went to pick up his twin brothers from a friend’s house around 10 p.m. Thursday night. The high school junior meant to go to 115th Terrace, but mistakenly knocked on the door at 115th Street, a block over.
When homeowner, Andrew D. Lester, 85, opened his door and saw Yarl standing on his porch, he allegedly told Yarl not to come back around here, right before he fired through his glass door. The teen was struck in the head and arm.
Yarl is lucky to be alive, but incidents like this are the reason why Black parents still give their children “The Talk” even before they discuss the birds and the bees. The talk tells you how to deal with police and uncomfortable situations with white people. This conversation was given to me by my father when I was in third-grade, I never forgot those lessons.
"The Talk" was intended to save my life, because society feared young Black and brown men.
More: Homeowner charged with shooting teenager who went to the wrong house in Kansas City
The Kansas City shooting reminds me of a powerful scene from the 1993 Hughes Brothers film, “Menace II Society,” when Mr. Butler, a stable and involved Black father, had a heart-to-heart talk with his son’s friend, Caine.
“Being a Black man in America isn’t easy. The hunt is on, and you’re the prey. All I’m saying is… All I’m saying is survive,” Mr. Butler said.
The line was as profound in 1993, as it is today. Yarl’s unprovoked shooting, proves that the hunt is still on, and young, Black, and brown people are often caught in the crosshairs.
'A racial component to this case.' Racism and guns a lethal combination
Lester was charged with felony assault in the first-degree and armed criminal action.
Clay County attorney Zachary Thompson said “there was a racial component to this case,” That's not a secret. Would Lester have shot a 16-year-old white girl or white boy on his porch?
If it can be proven that Lester shot Yarl because of the color of his skin, prosecutors should go for a "Hate Crime" enhancer.
In addition to the racial component, this case is also about the proliferation of guns in this country. Since 1899, the U.S. civilian gunstock has grown to at least 465.2 million guns produced and imported for the U.S. market, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In 2021, the last year data was available, there were a record, 48,830 killed by guns in the U.S., for a gun death rate of 14.8%. The 2021, gun death rate is the highest the U.S. has seen since it was 14.9% in 1991.
The main victims of homicide deaths were young men ages 15-24, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prior to the 1970s, long guns and rifle sales outsold pistols and revolvers in the U.S., according to Dan Feldman, professor of public management at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
When the switch occurred, pistols became the weapon of choice for gun owners for “protection.” The result was the opposite where there was a spike in crimes involving guns, shootings, and suicides.
We literally have more guns in this country than people and members of Congress don’t want to pass any meaningful gun legislation that could potentially save lives, Feldman said.
“A majority of us don’t want people who are mentally ill to get a gun, and we don’t want a 12-year-old to get a hold of a gun, but Congress is not doing anything to make sure guns don’t end up in the wrong hands,” he said.
Feldman’s right.
As a gun owner who has taken a conceal carry class, I can tell you that the ease of owning a gun is a joke, when compared to the steps you must take to even driving a car legally.
To drive a car, you must pass a written test, take a driver’s test, and if you fail to stop completely at a railroad track, you may have to take the test again. To legally own a gun, don’t be a felon. To obtain your conceal carry permit, you don’t even need to demonstrate that you even know how to fire a gun.
That’s irrational.
We see daily what happens when people get behind the wheel of a car with no training or understanding of the rules of the road. Why would we not force those who want to purchase a gun to prove that they know how to load, aim, fire, or more importantly store a gun?
Celebrities like Halle Berry are 'sick and tired of this feeling'
As the news of the Yarl shooting started to gain national attention, celebrities like Questlove, along with actresses Halle Berry and Kerry Washington used their social media platforms to demand justice.
On Twitter, Berry, said:
“His name is #RalphYarl and I’m sick and tired of this feeling…my heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head by a man who didn’t want him on his property. This innocent child is now fighting for his life. This could be your child. This should NOT happen..."
Berry also posted two photos of Yarl. One showed him standing on a balcony without a care in the world. The other photo shows him in his hospital room with his head wrapped in bandages.
Yarl was released from the hospital Sunday. He still has a way to go but he’s in good care. His mother is a nurse. A GoFundMe started by a family member has already netted more than $1 million. This will go toward his medical bills and future care.
As Yarl continues to heal, people will continue to support the young honor student who is a leader in the marching band and we should.
But this is the hard truth.
No matter how much we want to protect our kids as long as there are people like Lester with a gun and a Congress that won't act on this issue, we are all prey.
James E. Causey started reporting on life in his city while still at Marshall High School through a Milwaukee Sentinel high school internship. He's been covering his hometown ever since, writing and editing news stories, projects and opinion pieces on urban youth, mental health, employment, housing and incarceration. Most recently, he wrote about a man who went to prison as a child for a horrific crime in Life Correction: The Marlin Dixon story. Released at age 32, Dixon’s intent on giving his life meaning. Other projects include "What happened to us?" which tracked the lives of his third-grade classmates, and "Cultivating a community," about the bonding that takes place around a neighborhood garden. Causey was a health fellow at the University of Southern California in 2018 and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2007. Email him at jcausey@jrn.com; follow him on Twitter @jecausey.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lax gun laws, racism make Black boys a target in America
