Murder in Milwaukee!

Have you heard about the murder of a 13 year old black boy named Darius Simmons?

While the news rages about the failed recall of Gov. Walker in Wisconsin a far more disturbing story has been overshadowed in Milwaukee. According to reports, Darius was gunned down, while his hands were in the air, standing in front of his home. Who killed him? A 75 year old white man man who lived next door and who decided Darius was guilty of robbing him (even though Darius was in middle school during the day).

There are other disturbing elements to this story.  Get the facts HERE!

As the father of a black baby boy, my wife and I are sitting in our apartment, on the verge of buying a house in Richmond, Virginia, a state with famously high gun ownership rates and a city that’s experiencing increasing crime rates. Thinking about Trayvon Martin and how his family lived in a gated community, I wonder, how much protection do I need to provide my son even after carefully considering where to live? 

If we choose to live in an affluent area surrounded by mostly whites, will my son be a constant target? Will it only be a matter of time before someone decides that they will want to express their anger as this man in Milwaukee did?

If we choose to live in a predominately black area will my son be the victim of a more random act of violence? Or singled out by police? 

What recourse do we realistically have? Where is the safe community where my son will not be an outsider and not subject to “random” acts of violence?

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Comments

[Minhaj Husain]

I had read about Darius and thought it was the worst crime I have read about in a while. But one white man's racism does not make all white people racists. One black man being a gangster does not make all black people gangsters. One muslim terrorist does not make all muslims terrorists. Stereotyping in one direction is as bad as stereotyping in the other direction. Where should your son live ? Anywhere...just as long as he lives without fear and holds his head high. Fear of racism is worse than living with actual racism because the root of racism lies in fear. When people live without fear they are inherently good. Have trust in the fact that God created more good people than bad.