Jakell Mitchell was 18 years old. He was a freshman at Auburn University, and a member of the school's illustrious football team. He was going to try out for a starting position next season, and had a promising career before him. He was shot and killed on December 14, 2014.
It is a story that has been heard over and over again: another black male, struck down in the prime of his life.
Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Gardner are names that are familiar to us all. Following their deaths, there was nationwide outrage. A national debate about race and justice in America ensued. Black leaders demanded immediate action and change to protect the lives of black citizens. Hundreds of thousands peacefully assembled in cities across the country, shouting “Black Lives Matter.”
The death of Jakell Mitchell, however, went by almost unnoticed. There was no national outrage. Black leaders made no statements and issued no demands. There were no protests. No one shouted “Black Lives Matter” at the news of his death.
What was the reason for this muted reaction? Was his death was less tragic? Was his family less affected? Was he less of a contribution to his community? Or was it because he was killed, not by a white male, but by another black male?
The deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Gardner were tragic. They were also statistical anomalies; the overwhelming majority of black males are killed by other black males. Yet not one instance of black on black violence has ever been met with the kind of response that followed the incidents in Ferguson, Cleveland, and New York.
This indifference and hypocrisy is stunning. No one can take the mantra “Black Lives Matter” seriously when the epidemic of self-inflicted violence in the black community elicits no response. No one can take it seriously when it is only shouted at the rare instance of white on black violence.
Black lives matter. All lives matter. We are at a critical moment in our nation’s history. We have a chance to make a great change for the better. But Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Gardner, Jakell Mitchell, and hundreds of others will have died in vain if we allow the indifference and hypocrisy that exists in this country to go unaddressed.