The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A VETERAN Bahamian educator believes the country should begin to look at the establishment of a National Task Force on the State of Black Men and Boys in The Bahamas as a national intervention to change the lives of troubled males.

Dr Donald McCartney, a Bahamian professor at Barry University and long-time educator in The Bahamas, said that the country’s black men and boys are “feared, demonised and vilified”.

In a 3,000-word essay entitled, ‘Repairing The Breach In The Bahamas’, Dr McCartney indicated that a “national response” to issues confronting black men must be taken now, given the state of crime perpetrated by male members of the Bahamian society.

He pointed out that black men and boys are not a part of the economic structure or the body politic; many are not in community with their ethnic group.

“The spiralling murder rate and other acts of violence - particularly against young men and the elderly - makes it clear that many black men and boys in the Bahamas, pose a serious and critical problem of interpersonal violence in every corridor and thoroughfare that Bahamians and residents must cross. Consequently, black men and boys in The Bahamas are feared, demonised and vilified,” he wrote.

“There must be a national response on the issues confronting black men and boys in The Bahamas. This is no time for throwing up our hands as a gesture of capitulation, posing the useless question: ‘What is wrong with these young men?’ and rolling our eyes. It is time for action … serious, sustained, positive action.”

He recommends that such a task force would involve individuals who are prepared to make a difference in the issues of black men and boys in their communities.

Dr McCartney believes that the work of a proposed National Task Force on the State of Black Men and Boys in The Bahamas should and must be a joint venture between the government and corporate Bahamas.

In the piece, he wrote that the national task force must be appointed post haste and without reference to political affiliation, and must come from a broad spectrum of concerned citizens and residents from the public and private sectors.

“While these persons should be qualified for the task at hand, the National Task Force on the State of Black Men and Boys in The Bahamas must be comprised of men, women and young persons who are committed to the task repairing the breach and restoring the streets.

“The purpose of the National Task Force … will be to provide ideas that government, organisations and individuals in The Bahamas can use to change the lives of black men and boys, change communities, and by extension change the nation,” he wrote.

He indicates that the primary aim will be to create a long-term structure of sustained intervention for black men and boys who find themselves in trouble.

“The emphasis of the National Task Force on the State of Black Men and Boys in The Bahamas will be on systemic change that will bring together a multiplicity of ideas to reduce violence and crime, thus making The Bahamas’ social life whole again,” he said.

“The National Task Force … must not shape itself around the issue of violence. Violence, in The Bahamas, has been painted with a broad brush because black men and boys are looked upon as the face of the violence. This violence appears to have immobilised law abiding citizens into a state of panic and fear.”

Dr McCartney added that the proposed task force ought to frame its recommendations and responses. He believes that the recommendations of such a task force could form the core of a 10- to 20-year plan, which will enable the government and corporate Bahamas to begin to assess and ameliorate the problems faced by black males in The Bahamas.