Tackling the Problem of Crime
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In his March 4 op-ed, "Taking the Call on Black Men," Richard Cohen said, "More than half of the nation's annual homicides of about 15,000 are committed by black men," that "a kind of cultural malignancy has taken root in parts of the African American underclass" and that "as a segment of society, they have proved impervious to progress." He concluded with, "Clearly, something new has to be tried. When that White House phone rings, for this most urgent among other reasons, it is Obama who should answer it." Because Sen. Barack Obama is black, of course.
Mr. Cohen should follow up with a column explaining how crimes committed by black men have dramatically decreased in such cities as Washington, Detroit and Trenton, N.J., after the election of mayors who are black role models. If he can't, he should retract his ridiculous suggestion that one of the urgent reasons that a black man should be elected president is that nothing else has worked to reduce the nation's black homicide rate.
WILLIAM J. SCANLON JR.
Ellicott City
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Richard Cohen is correct that the high incarceration rate of black men deserves more serious attention. But it is important to distinguish the crime rate issue from the incarceration rate issue.
From 1993 to 2004, we saw a historic decline in violent crime in America. The rate of violent crime committed by black people declined by two-thirds. The rate of incarceration of black men, however, continued its unrelenting increase. The incarceration rate is driven by "tough on crime" policies, not by the crime rate. To lower the incarceration rate, we need to change these policies.
ALGERNON AUSTIN
