Mobile Police Department Sgt. John Young recently criticized Montgomery City leadership for failing to address the real issues, making young black men the majority of victims and perpetrators of violent crime.
Young is a law enforcement veteran with nearly 35 years of experience. In 2022, he formed Men United Against Violence following the shooting deaths of a 13-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. The murders gained Young national attention for calling out the “sub-culture of gun violence in Mobile with young black men.”
Meanwhile, Montgomery has been facing its own surge in violent crime, leading residents to petition city leadership for change. In response, Mayor Steven Reed and members of his staff have blamed gun violence on the Alabama Legislature for removing the state’s requirement for citizens to purchase a concealed carry permit to carry a weapon on their person or vehicle.
On a Tuesday appearance on Talk 93.1, “News and Views,” with Joey Clark, Young addressed the growing crime problem amongst young black men in Montgomery and elsewhere. He also criticized City leadership for blaming escalating crime on guns.
“Unfortunately, people have categorized black vs. black violence as gun violence out of fear of offending, I guess, the perpetrator or the people who are making a living out of race-baiting,” Young said. “You mention the problems you’ve had in Montgomery. If you go to gunviolencearchives.org, it says that Montgomery has had four mass shootings this year. A mass shooting is described as shootings that have four or more victims. Birmingham has had three, and Mobile has had one.”
He continued, “Until we say, ‘Black men are killing black men,’ we’ll never ask why, and we’ll never find a solution, Joey. Guns are not inherently violent. They are tools used to commit violence against human beings.”
Young placed the onus of black crime on the breakdown of the black family, stating emphatically that black families did not have a familial breakdown during the most oppressive time against blacks in American History. He also criticized preachers and spiritual leaders for failing to address the issue in their community.
"We believe at Men United Against Violence, the breakdown of the family is the root cause of all these problems," Young said. "Some people might want to suggest that it skipped all the way back to slavery. Some people might want to suggest it's racism, but I argue against that by stating that, in the face of Jim Crow and black codes and redlining, the black family was intact. And the black family thrived."
He continued, “Even before legislators were elected on identity politics, families were still important. The shame of a woman having children out of wedlock. The shame of a man producing children outside of marriage. And listen, I’m not speaking holier than thou. I’ve not always been saved. I’ve not always walked this life. I have two children outside of marriage; they’re in their 20s. But I would be a fool to promote that to other people. I am telling you, don’t do what I did. Don’t make the mistakes I made. Marry before you carry. Have a job that can provide for you and your family. Stay out of the criminal justice system. We don’t need legislators to tell us that. We don’t need laws to tell us what’s the right thing to do. Preachers have a higher responsibility, and they are failing.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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