Violence at ‘Boyz N the Hood’ Screenings

To my younger brothers and sisters engaging in violence at screenings of “Boyz N the Hood”:

I cry for you. Do you know what you’re doing is genocide?

There is no denying that our struggle is not over, that we are still fighting daily against both overt and covert forms of racism within every socioeconomic strata of American society. You know it; I know it. It’s there--and the frustration, anger and oppressiveness of it all is causing you to lash out against society and each other. I know the frustrations you feel. I went to Stanford University and Harvard Business School, and I feel it. You are identified as different, and the majority isn’t always sure what to make of you--your talents, your style, your way of communicating and relating.

But violence against each other is certainly not the answer.

Writer and director John Singleton is one of you. He’s from where you’re from. He’s not some outsider trying to tell your story. He’s one of your voices. You should be cheering him on.

Theater owners are not innocent here, nor is the media. The media, by hyping the potential violence, is responsible on some level for planting the seed. But, again, I look at us. We had the opportunity to control the outcome.

Let this be a lesson in respect. By respecting one of our own, John Singleton, we are demonstrating self-respect. Let’s not shut down an outlet for our voices and points of view--the movies--just as African-Americans are beginning to hit their stride.

V. DENISE BRADLEY

Los Angeles