My Thoughts on Cornelius Jones Senseless Murder

 by Kenny Anderson

“Damn another funeral, Lord knows, Lord knows, Lord knows.” – Tupac Skakur

"Working together, we can put an end to this cycle that creates deep pain in the hearts of our mothers, our fathers, and our people, who have lost loved ones to this senseless violence." - Stanley 'Tookie' Williams

As a Black male elder, I can recall back in the day a Black man killing another Black man because of being spat on, but a Black man being murdered by another Black man because he was told not to spit in the sink as in the case of Cornelius Jones tragic death is a descent into extreme lowliness.

My son knew Mr. Jones since elementary, he said ‘Corn’ as he was known was one of the coolest dudes he’s ever met; always just wanted to make jokes and keep people laughing.

Though I did not know Corn his death has touched me; this 33 year-old Yak-Town Black father had so much more to live for and accomplish; so much more to offer his children and community; his life was taken down by a reckless young Black man out here too ‘sensitive’ and ‘vicious’ driven by a twisted sense of being disrespected.

Distorted Sense of Respect and Thin-Skinned an Impetus for Murder

Unfortunately, too many young Black males like Corn’s murderer who felt some kind of way ‘slighted’ being told not to spit in the sink walk around with a simple and twisted retaliation definition of ‘respect’, as John Rich & Courtney Grey state:

“Respect, defined as receiving the deference that one deserves, is a central part of how young urban men make their way through the dangerous world in which they live. Anderson identified respect as a central component of the code of the street whereby urban young Black men protect themselves physically while also safeguarding their fragile personal identities. The code of the street dictates that when someone disrespects you, whether physically, emotionally, or materially, you must respond aggressively to regain your respect.”

Too many young Black males distorted sense of respect coupled with emotional impairment ’too sensitive’ often is a death producing cocktail. Indeed, as a community we have socialized and allowed way too many young Black males to be ‘caught-up in their feelings’, they have ‘emotional dysregulation’, the inability to control or regulate their negative emotional responses.

Being easily slighted and full of negative feelings too many young Black males like the killer of Corn are always in the ‘conflict-creating’ mode, that’s increased by their low frustration tolerance, unable to tolerate unpleasant feelings or stressful situations.

These emotional provocative young Black males view conflict-resolution as being a ‘punk’ or ‘sucker’; they don’t believe in resolving conflicts non-violently; they subscribe to conflict-extermination ‘murder’; any encounter with them has the potential to be deadly.

Black-on-Black Male Violence is a Public Health Problem

Since the 1980's, past 4 decades, massive Black-on-Black violence and homicides have been primarily viewed and addressed through the lenses of law enforcement: arresting, trying, sentencing, and incarcerating offenders on the assumption that this will deter future violent acts.

This limited law enforcement approach has failed to curb Black-on-Black male violence and homicides, this violence and homicides rages on; this limited police and legal approach has led to the mass incarceration of Black men.

In contrast, a public health approach to addressing Black-on-Black male violence and homicides is more interested in understanding the causes and determinants of violent behavior.

Violence becomes a public health problem when it has a significant negative impact on the public (communities, neighborhoods). Indeed, violence causes many more injuries than deaths in Black communities. For Black males ages 15-34 their health problems are unintentional injury, suicide, and homicide, not chronic diseases.

Though Black boys and men account for just six percent of the total population, they comprise more than half of all gun homicide victims. The disparities in Black and white homicide rates are particularly stark in large cities and counties.

Research suggests that roughly half of all gun homicides take place in just 127 cities, driving the elevated rates of homicides in these geographies. In the nation’s 20 largest counties, Black men ages 18 to 25 die from gun homicides at a rate nearly 19 times that of white residents.

This disparity means that while five out of every 100,000 young white people in these counties die from gun homicides, more than one in every 10,000 young Black people are killed in such incidents.

According to the National Violent Death Reporting System, violence is preventable; that supportive relationships can decrease violent behaviors and disrupt a 'cycle of violence'; that education on life skills and social-emotional development at an early age can also prevent violence.

Over the years many Black leaders, scholars, health professionals, and violent offenders have stated that what drives Black-on-Black male violence and homicides internally and what needs to be addressed and intervened is self-hatred, low-self-esteem, lack of self-worth, disrespect, and distrust.

During my over 40 years as a Black community leader and over 30 years as a social worker now retired, I committed my efforts to saving Black men and boys both professionally and in the community as a top priority.

As a Black male development specialist, I recommend to this generation of Black male mentors like Maurice Mahone ‘Coach Dollar’ and ‘Max Maine’ when engaging Black boys and young adults to stress the basic 5Rs:

*Rationality – Thinking before acting

*Respect – Value self and others

*Responsibility – Being accountable

*Resilience – Positively responding to setbacks

*Righteousness – Choosing the ‘right’ way

To the rest of the Black community (parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, coaches, etc.) when engaging Black boys and young adults develop in them:

*Respect Clarification – that a sense of respect is beyond a low-level ‘get back’ of feeling slighted. That a higher sense of respect is listening to others thoughts and feelings even if you don't necessarily agree with them; valuing and giving them the same consideration you would expect for yourself.

*Emotional Management - is the ability to be aware of the range of your emotions both positive and negative and to deal constructively with those emotions in different situations; helps you manage situations that make you feel angry or sad, and better understand your emotions.

*Conflict-Resolution Skills - the ability to seek compromise and avoid aggressiveness and violence; to at least say ‘my bad’ when you’re wrong; a readiness to forgive and forget, and to move past the conflict without holding resentments or anger.

*I give my sincere condolences to Cornelius Jones family!