Marc Lamont Hill on HuffPost Live: "Black Men Under Fire"

Marc Lamont Hill hosted an excellent Huff Post Live discussion on "Black Men Under Fire"—the escalating and ongoing number of cases of unarmed Black men who have been brutally shot down. The recent case of 17-year-old Jordan Davis is among the latest examples.

The Davis case shows that "Black men are still marked as dangerous and lethal threats in America," said Hill. "Why can't we move past the criminalization and murder of these young Black men? When I first heard it, I thought someone mixed this up with Trayvon Martin. Why can't they get any police intervention or benefit of the doubt?"

Mark Anthony Neal agreed. "There are very few spaces in American society to access the humanity of Black men. Especially young Black men," said the Professor of Black Popular Culture at Duke University. "Even looking at sports, Black athletes are [perceived] as gladiators. ... Black men are always seen as a threat. They can just be outside listening to music and [society] sees them as a threat."

Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Hill is Associate Professor of Education at Columbia University, one the hip-hop generation’s leading public intellectuals and the host of Our World with Black Enterprise. Hill is also a fellow contributor to EBONY. He was interviewed for my article "99 Problems, But Gay Marriage Ain't One."

The other guests included BET's Jeffrey Johnson and the University of Colorado's Joshua Correll.

Two new articles are must-reads on the Jordan Davis case and the criminalization of Black young men. Darnell Moore at EBONY essays on "Black Boys Under the Gun." And make sure you read Mychal  Denzel Smith at the Guardian "After Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis."

Comments

[Kerq]

Do we even know what Police Officers are learning in their training? How do we get Officers (including the Black, Latin Officers) to leave their prejudices, experiences, fears, machismo and self-imposed racial profiling OUT of their daily duties as Police Officers and protectants of the people - all people - including a young Black man? HOW AND WHEN WILL WE GET HERE?

[Jake Talbott]

Co-signing Kerq!

This REALLY is a good conversation. Props to Dr. Hill!

[Dan Collier]

This is a conversation which must become part of (so-called) mainstream society. It is about the heart and soul of what we in America are as a people, as a nation.