Everyone wants to live in a society free from crime, Black people included. We’re just not usually able to comfortably express that without America treating it as an endorsement of our own criminalization and mass incarceration.
When mention is made of the Black community’s collective concern about crime, it is rarely to address our material needs or alleviate the causes of crime, but instead offered to dismiss calls for progressive reform in lieu of continuing to invest in “tough on crime” initiatives.
There is a concerted effort across all American media to scare us into believing that crime is out of control because America has a financial investment in our fear. Take for example, the mass media reporting that a shoplifting crime surge across the country was responsible for store closings, only for Walgreens CEO to eventually admit “Maybe we cried too much last year,” when data did not support their claims.