OPINION:
The incarceration of thousands of black men in America should not be upstaged by the rash of killings of unarmed black people at the hands of law-enforcement officers across the country. Are there any real solutions to stopping the bloodshed and helping black families deal with the issues that stem from growing up in fatherless households? In short, yes.
During the Civil War, joining the Union Army was one option for thousands of enslaved black men. Nearly 200,000 black men enlisted with the promise of freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862. Although nearly 40,000 black soldiers died in that war, they served with distinction despite facing racial discrimination and other brutal travesties inflicted by the Confederate Army.
The Civil War helped to emancipate and empower black soldiers. It also affirmed the leadership and courage that black men had in times of great conflict, disparity and unrest.
Joining the U.S. military may not be the best option for men of color today who have to avoid confrontations with racist police officers on a daily basis in order to stay alive, or to avoid being sent to prison, possibly for life. But it is the safest option available. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
We are living in a country whereby ’joining’ hasn’t always been an option for black men or men of color in general. But at the current rate of imprisonment of black men, military enlistment is a decision that could very well restore black families, where children of incarcerated parents are often faced with emotional, psychological, physical and economic traumas. It could also keep many young black men alive.
WILLIAM J. BOOKER
Founder, Black Men Matter
Chicago
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