Really Ray? Lewis Confuses ‘Symptom’ With ‘Disease’ In Black Lives Matter Discussion


Ray Lewis does not shy away from the spotlight. His newest video posted on Facebook takes the time to preach about black-0n-black crime and #BlackLivesMatter, among other things. While his intentions may have been good, he misses the message.

Lewis decided to rail on the rising crime rates in Chicago. He wondered aloud about the effectiveness of the #BlackLivesMatter movement if they ignore black-on black crime altogether:

“I’m trying to find out if Black lives really matter, when in Chicago alone the murder rate has soared 72 percent in 2016, 88 percent in the first three months of 2016 compared to last year…I’m trying to figure out in my mind why no one is paying attention to Black men killing Black men.”

Indeed, these are troubling figures, but the #BLM movement wasn’t only created to examine things in a vacuum as Lewis does. Their goal is to change the discussion surrounding minority treatment as a whole.

Institutional disenfranchisement and impairment of minority communities is unfortunately part of this country’s essence. Housing discrimination, redlining, and white flight were alternative avenues of oppression devised after the more overt and horrific methods (slavery, Jim Crow, etc.) were finally abolished. Chicago was one of the hardest hit cities of these more modern methods.

When you destroy minority communities and neglect their need for equal life opportunities, unfortunate societal issues like we see in Chicago happen. Blaming these communities for everything they suffer through in terms of crime shifts the blame away from what actually created it. Messages like Ray Lewis’ subconsciously persuades African-Americans that they are inherently more apt to commit crimes. You are lesser than, but we expect you to be twice as good.

Although Lewis specifically discussed Chicago, the issue of failing to recognize the real problem is a national one. The emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools decries the actions of teachers instead of fixing the horrid conditions for their students. The state of Alabama tried to strip thousands of African-Americans of their voting, shutting down DMVs in mostly black counties after passing a voter ID law. Instead of looking down, Lewis needs to glance a glance upward.

Lewis further misses the point on #BLM, while continuing to confuse symptom with disease. Their protests are against those who created the situations like the one in Chicago. Their aim is to take their fight to the proper levels. How is a marginalized community supposed to provoke change if they merely talk amongst themselves? (Not to mention the factually weak argument no one cares about this type of crime, because THEY DO.)

The white community needs a little more self-awareness and accountability in their role here. It’s like a one-sided mirror that we ask African-Americans to stare into to find their answers, as we stand on the other side staring back at them, too. Videos like these show that this narrative sometimes convinces us in accepting our guilt.

Lewis’ opportunity in life was a unique one but not everyone is afforded these athletic gifts. He’d do well to better understand his luck not having an entire life shaped by a neglected community. I look forward to being called a self-hating white man in the comments below.

 

Featured image by Grant Halverson/Getty Images.