“Ace Boogie” is dead, and I’m not feeling so good myself
The coming cataclysm in the Black community

Folksinger Bob Dylan once sang “You don’t need a weatherman to know the way the wind blows,” and indeed some ill winds have been blowing for some time in Cleveland’s inner-city communities. And those winds are threatening to turn into a full-force hurricane — leaving death, destruction and devastated neighborhoods in its wake — if nothing is done to head off the gathering storm.

The “storm” is gun violence and as inner-city residents apply for concealed weapons permits in ever-increasing numbers the fear is that African-American communities are going to be turned into armed camps ... reminiscent of Dodge City and the Wild West.

And, while anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that gun violence cannot be reduced by introducing more guns into neighborhoods, how can any sane person tell law-abiding residents of troubled neighborhoods not to arm themselves, especially after the saga of 15-year-old Arthur “Ace Boogie” Buford played itself out on Kinsman Avenue with such tragic consequences?

For anyone who has been on the moon for the last week or so Buford and his crime partner attempted to rob 25-year-old Damon Wells, who was legally armed, in Well’s front yard as he returned from a grocery store at 8:35 in the evening.. Buford was shot and killed. Of course the incident is going to be claimed as a victory for gun owners over criminals by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the end result will be more people arming themselves — more guns in minority communities, not less — which is exactly what these communities don’t need. And this prospect is enough to make me — and a lot of other people — physically sick.

To the growing list of culprits to be held responsible for the reprehensible conditions in many inner-city neighborhoods — hopelessness, despair, low goals, lack of parental control, failed social service networks, ever-present violence on TV and in movies (the list could go on and on) — we can now add the NRA. By virtually intimidating Congress into eschewing any and all legislation that would help to stop the spread of guns the gun nut lobbyists of the NRA have assured that virtually any 13-year-old with $100 in his pocket and thug thoughts on his mind can purchase a gun in a poor neighborhood ... they literally are everywhere. It won’t be long before another urban legend begins spreading, this one stating that this is all a grand scheme by the mysterious “they” (you know, the same “they” who are accused of putting drugs in the Black community) to flood minority neighborhoods with guns so we will kill each other off — a demonic sort of “thinning the herd.”

Well, if it is a diabolical scheme ... it sure is working. Homicide is the leading cause of death among young Black males in America, and, according to federal statistics, it’s now twice as safe for these dudes in prison as it is on the streets. Indeed, no one can say we Black folks are not helping to decimate our own race ... with guns, drugs and violence. But what we are left to ponder is ... even if “they” put the guns and drugs into our communities, how do “they” get us to go along with using them on each other with such alacrity?

Local pundits and media types have had a field day demonstrating they have an excellent grasp of the obvious with their shallow offerings and opinions on the subject. What adult in their right mind would not be foursquare against thug culture taking over the streets of Cleveland ... or any other city for that matter? Without the rule of law all is lost. But few of the commentators get past the easy part of simply castigating thuggery and on to the hard part of why it exists, what can be done to stamp it out, and, most importantly, how can we as a society prevent it from taking root in the first place. Ah, that requires more than 15-second sound bites or 15-minute columns. And it also requires some soul searching that we Americans are not too good at — might take us out of our comfort zone.

We care little about the conditions that assure us there are children being born today — this minute, this second — that, absent their parent(s) getting some real help in rearing them will turn into other “Ace Boogies” in 15 or so years. This is not speculation, this is not a guess, this is a guarantee ... and we all know it. The truth of the matter is, we don’t give a damn about the “Ace Boogies” of the world until they become old enough and big enough to impact society with a knife or a gun. And if there is an answer it better be easy, because we only like easy answers. Madman goes on a shooting rampage at a university? Don’t question how he was able to get the guns and then move to fix the system to prevent other disturbed persons from acquiring deadly weaponry, let’s just take the easy route and arm every student and teacher ... that’ll fix the problem and protect us in the future, right? Wrong.

Centuries of rampant racism and benign neglect created the broken neighborhood that spawned Ace Boogie, and it will take a concerted effort by many of society’s stakeholders to fix it. But there are answers, we just don’t want to hear them, — so I won’t bore you with a lot of arcane sociological mumbo-jumbo. If you were in any way seriously interested you’d find the answers for yourself. OK, I will give you a hint in regards to one inner-city program that works and works well to prevent more Ace Boogies. It’s called: B.R.I.C.K. Find out how you can help, or simply email me for more information.

But I know what most of you are thinking, “Enough with the problems already, let’s get to the important stuff — like how far will the Cavs go in the playoffs this year?”

From Cool Cleveland contributor Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com (:divend:)