Retired cop James Jackson, left, and Keith Hines are citizen-patrol partners in Jefferson-Chalmers, Detroit. Photo via The Daily

The days of the wild, wild west when citizens would take up arms and protect their families from bandits seems like a theme of the past, but a growing trend among Detroit residents finds that many are turning to Second Amendment solutions to counteract a lack of police assistance.

According to a new article by the online newspaper, The Daily, justifiable homicide rates in Detroit increased by 79 percent in 2011 (from 19 people killed in 2010 to 34 people in 2011) as many residents have armed themselves to make up for a lack of police protection. Unable to rely on a police force stricken by budget cuts and layoffs (there are just 3000 officers to protect a city of 700,000), self-defense killings in the city are at an all-time high and are 2,200 percent higher than the national average.

One resident, Julia Brown, likened the uptick in armed residents to the Old West.

“We got to have a little Old West up here in Detroit. That’s what it’s gonna take,” Brown informed The Daily. The 73-year-old woman told the paper the last time she called the police, they didn’t show up until the next day. After that, she applied for a permit to carry a gun, vowing not to be a victim of the troublemakers who are terrorizing her neighborhood.

“I don’t intend to be one of their victims,” she said. “I’m planning on taking one out.”

Brown isn’t the only one thinking of taking the law into her own hands.

The Daily reports:

One high-ranking official in the county legal system, speaking to The Daily, said the rise in justifiable homicides mirrors a local court system that’s increasingly lenient of the practice.

“It’s a lot more acceptable now to get your own retribution,” the official said. “And the justice system in the city is a lot more understanding if people do that. It‘s becoming a part of the culture.”

Detroiters are arming themselves with shotguns and handguns and buying guard dogs. Anything to take care of their own. And privately, residents say neighborhood watch groups in Detroit are widely armed. 

“It’s like the militiamen who stepped up way back when. That’s where the neighborhood folks are,” said James “Jackrabbit” Jackson, a 63-year-old retired Detroit cop who has patrolled the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood for years.

“They’re ready to fight,” Jackson said. “We don’t hardly see police anymore.”

The city’s wealthier enclaves have hired private security firms. Intimidating men in armored trucks patrol streets lined with gracious old homes in a scene more likely seen in Mexico City than the United States.

While some residents have armed themselves and set up citizen patrols, others have decided it’s safer to move. After being robbed a gunpoint in his upper-middle class neighborhood, Kevin Early–the director of the criminal justice studies program at the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus–decided to move.

Detroit has had it rough over the years: unemployment, mismanaged city funds, and layoffs have continued to plague the city. Despite this, however, the residents of the D have been resilient, working hard to not only protect what they’ve built over the years, but working to rebuild the city they love.

What do you think about people taking the law into their own hands? 

Music is powerful, and for many black artists, music goes hand-in-hand with our culture. A new documentary explores this connection by showcasing the work of one of Atlanta’s cultural institutions, the FunkJazz Kafé.

For nearly two decades the FunkJazz Kafé was a cultural mecca for artists and musicians from around the world.

The documentary, Diary of a Decade, ”is the story of a cultural legend as told by the innovators of an important, and in some cases overlooked, era in Black culture….The film covers the decade when Atlanta’s underground music scene became established on the world stage and a new generation of soul singers and musicians emerged.”

Written, directed, and produced by Jason Orr, Diary of a Decade, features appearances by such cultural icons and musicians as Dick Gregory, Erykah Badu, Dallis Austin, Roy Ayres, Talib Kweli, George Clinton, Common, Andre 3000, Jill Scott, Eric Roberson, and many more.

The film will screen at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles on February 17. Check the film’s website for future screening dates.

Check out an extended clip of the film and let us know what you think.

Despite being an accomplished and talented actor, Davis has talked candidly about the difficulties black actresses face in the business. Unlike her white contemporaries who enjoy various roles from which they can virtually take their pick, Davis says she doesn’t have Hollywood beating down her door offering high-quality leading roles.

She explains, “There’s no ‘Sophie’s Choice’ script floating around there for me. If you look at what has been out there for the past few years, or even the last year, for women of color…this is basically it.” She continues, “I do not sit with 10 or 15 scripts in front of me, all leading roles…that just has not been my options.”

While it would be easy for Davis to blame the lack of roles for black women on racism and prejudice, she says that’s too simplistic of an answer. Interestingly enough, Viola Davis says she receives a large amount of roles from young, black writers, but there’s only one problem: they want her to play a crack addicted urban mother.

In spite of the lack of well-written parts for black actresses, Davis is hopeful the success of The Help will show Hollywood that black actresses deserve a chance to shine. While I hope she is right, I won’t hold my breath.

What do you think? 

*Via Shadow & Act

The 24-song list features classics like Earth, Wind, And Fire’s “Got To Get You Into My Life,” The Impressions’ “Keep On Pushing,” and Aretha Franklin’s “The Weight,” along with newer music such as Raphael Saadiq’s “Keep Marchin,’” Ledisi’s “Raise Up,” and Jennifer Hudson’s “Love You I Do” from Dreamgirls. The list also inexplicably contains not one but two songs by former Hootie and The Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker, which is the kind of music that, now that I’m forced to think about it, I can imagine our president listening to on the low.

The playlist is accessible to everyone through Spotify.

What do you think of these selections?

All of that has changed now that I’ve joined a gym in Hollywood where 70% of the people are on such a serious mission to look good that they can’t be bothered by my or anyone else’s flabbiness, 20% are too busy flirting or drawing attention to themselves, and 10% are actors ranging from tragic D-list discards to legitimate on-screen hotties. I saw Taye Diggs and Hosea Sanchez there looking like chocolate deliciousness and if that won’t motivate me to work out I don’t know what will — the place has hotties galore. So I go for the hotties, stay for the way getting in shape makes me feel. But there is one problem.

I mentioned that 20% of the people at my gym are busy drawing attention to themselves, but there’s a handful that takes things to a new level. There are too few of them to register as any percentage of gym attendees but they make me feel like I must be losing my mind, they’ve lost theirs, or both. It’s one thing to hit the gym in some cute workout wear, another to appear to have freshly done your hair and makeup for the occasion, and yet another to show up half-naked clearly looking for action. I really mean half naked.

For example, for the past few days this one woman has me convinced that she’s a porn star. I’m not familiar with any so I can’t say for sure, but she had the hugest rear end I’ve ever seen on such a small body that I’m sure it’s been surgically enhanced. I mean humungous. She also had breasts to match, at least an H-cup on a size 2 body. I can’t knock her hustle, but did she really need to be working out in nothing but leggings and a blind-as-a-bat-blue bandeau top? We all know that such a thing provides ZERO support. And homegirl knew as much when she hopped up on the treadmill to run, holding one breast in each hand in a way that reminded me of that iconic Janet Jackson Rolling Stone cover except that she was holding her own boobies. While running. For three days in a row. Hunh? There’s flaunting what you’ve got and then there’s straight up ridiculousness.

I’ll probably be intimidated by people who are farther along on their fitness journey than I am for quite some time and am determined enough to use that as motivation. But can the “special” people that Hollywood is notorious for cut a chunky girl a visual break?

This week, Rick Santorum, of “I said ‘blah’ people not ‘black’ people” fame, won primaries in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado all at pretty healthy margins. In doing so, Santorum reinvigorated the GOP race for the White House by casting doubt on Mitt Romney’s ability to appeal to more conservative Republicans. In recent weeks his opponents have likened his state’s “Romneycare” to Obama’s health plan, focused on his support of abortion, and accused him of being wealthily out of touch. Now, I’m a little bit nervous.

Mitt Romney has never impressed me, but Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrinch scare me. It’s enough that they’ve had any success at all while spouting racist and homophobic viewpoints on the campaign trail, but the idea that the far right is leading the GOP race over a more moderate frame of mind makes me worry for our future. There’s nothing wrong with conservative views in a vacuum but when they involve limiting rights and targeting black America for this country’s woes there is a problem, especially when voters find that attractive. While Obama’s track record will keep him a strong candidate in months to come and should win him a second term, I have a feeling that we’re in for a lot more ugliness from a segment of the GOP that is learning how well that kind of campaigning works.

What do you think Rick Santorum’s victories mean for the 2012 election?

That being said, the reaction to Roland Martin’s suspension by CNN for sending a homophobic tweet has once again highlighted a divide in our community about how we treat our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.

Black men and women have been both a catalyst and an impediment in the fight for LGBT equality. On one hand many black writers, clergy, and activits preach tolerance and acceptance, while others argue that there is no place for black LGBT people in our community. This struggle—between acceptance and intolerance—continues to wage on in our barbershops, schools, churches, songs, and social networks.

When GLAAD cried foul over political pundit and journalist Roland Martin’s offensive tweet, many in our community brushed it off as a “joke.” Some (even a few Clutch readers) claimed those who were offended were just “too sensitive,” and shouldn’t have taken offense to Martin’s tweet stating, “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!” Although Martin claimed he was talking about smacking a man for liking soccer, not David Beckham, the damage was done. Once again violence against gays was not only normalized, it was celebrated (and excused) by many.

While some will say Martin’s tweet isn’t that bad, it comes on the heels of a viral video showing a young, black, gay man being beaten by a gang of other black men. This gang of men targeted the young man simply because he was gay and proceeded to viciously attack him in broad daylight. The video was then posted to World Star Hip Hop where many of the early commenters cheered on the attackers (others later chimed in to condemn the attack).

Even though I’m sure Roland Martin wouldn’t excuse the heinous violence caught on tape, his words add to an attitude that makes it acceptable to mistreat gays and lesbians because they are somehow defective or dirty or different than the norm.

If anyone should understand the weight of words, it should be Roland Martin. And if any group should be able to sympathize with being discriminated against for no fault of their own, it is black folks.

Words, and even those we don’t intend for others to take seriously, have power. We can no longer excuse, make light of, or give ignorance a pass simply because it doesn’t seem offensive to us. We can no longer continue to shrug off normalized violence by calling it a joke. Unlike the popular nursery rhyme, sticks, stones, and words can hurt, and in some cases, kill.

As black folks, we know what it feels like to be discriminated against. We can look at our parents, grandparents, and our history to see the sacrifices that were made for us to be able to live life however we want. So why do some of us feel justified in not only advocating against equality for others, but actively participating in normalizing violence against them?

I agree with dream hampton when she writes, “As a community, we must continue to press for a culture free of hypocrisy and condemnation. And we have to press for sensitivity from our community leaders, within our churches and where ever there is gay bashing. The idea that sexists or homophobes can never be oppressors because they themselves are oppressed by racism is a non-argument. Black homophobes should and must be called out to create a safe community for all us sinners.”

What do you think? 

Since launching her business three years ago when she was just eight (!!), Maya has not only been building her client base, shipping orders all over the world, but she’s also grabbed the attention of the business world. The pint-sized CEO was featured in Forbes magazine as one of their “Sixteen Grade School Entrepreneurs.”

Despite balancing school and her business, Maya also makes a point of giving back to others. She donates at least 10 percent of the profits from her business to charities in and around Atlanta.

How wonderful!

Check out 11-year-old Maya Penn chatting with Fox 5 Atlanta about her growing business!  

Canton 11-Year-Old Girl is Entrepreneur: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Filmmaker Chico Colvard returns to his childhood home to document the growth and healing (or perhaps lack of both) in his family years after a life-altering incident. We learn that at the age of nine he accidentally shot his sister and she, believing that she would die, confessed that their father had been sexually abusing both her and her sisters.

The extended trailer is very thought-provoking and has me really looking forward to watching the whole documentary. Family Affair will air on OWN on March 1.

Hat tip to Shadow & Act.

What do you think of this trailer?

We looked at 10 factors for the 200 largest metro areas and divisions in the U.S. to determine America’s Most Miserable Cities. Some are serious, like violent crime, unemployment rates, foreclosures, taxes (income and property), home prices and political corruption. Other metrics we included are less weighty, like commute times, weather and how the area’s pro sports teams did. While sports, commuting and weather can be considered trivial by many, they can be the determining factor in the level of misery for a significant number of people.

The winner (or perhaps loser) and most surprising entry on this list? Sunny Miami, a city whose high foreclosure rate contributed heavily to its status as The Most Miserable City in America. Everytime I’ve ever been to Miami I’ve had a blast on the beach and at the clubs, but had no idea that a whopping 47% of homeowners in the city are trapped in underwater mortgages. The full list:

1. Miami, Florida

2. Detroit, Michigan

3. Flint, Michigan

4. West Palm Beach, Florida

5. Sacramento, California

6. Chicago, Illinois

7. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

8. Toledo, Ohio

9. Rockford, Illinois

10. Warren, Michigan

Hmm…I’m surprised to see Chicago on this list, but not so much at the beleaguered Michigan cities. I’m most surprised that there aren’t more cities on this list that struggle with high murder rates — like New Orleans, Baltimore, or my hometown Philadelphia. Because I will tell you, in spite of sport’s team losses and bad weather, worrying about dodging bullets can be pretty darn miserable.

You can view the rest of the list at Forbes.com.

What do you think of Forbes’ methodology? Are you surprised by any of the entries on this list?