Survival guide for young black men - St. Petersburg Times

Javon Dawson, 17, is dead. Terrence Nemeth, a 24-year-old St. Petersburg police officer, shot Dawson two times. Police reports state that Dawson, a sophomore at Gibbs High School, fired a gun into the air at a graduation party. After being ordered to drop the weapon, police say, Dawson turned and leveled it at Nemeth as he attempted to run. Nemeth fired.

Some blacks, including Dawson's father, say the officer murdered the teen. I don't know all the details. I do know that each year, thousands of young black males nationwide have unnecessary, often fatal, confrontations with the police.

The following is my short survival guide for black males. The guide is not intended to make you look weak or like a sellout. It's intended to help you be smart. It offers a few commonsense ways to stay out of trouble with the police. It's to help you stay alive.

Some suggestions are intentionally redundant and in no particular order to help you pay attention and drive home the point. Nothing I write here is based on theory. It is based on time-tested truth.

• Stay away from guns altogether. Don't own one, and don't hang out with anyone who does. Children have absolutely no reason to possess a gun. If, for some reason, you wind up with a gun in public, NEVER point it at a police officer.

• If you're stopped or otherwise find yourself in the presence of an officer, obey every command. Don't talk trash. Don't show attitude. Don't make sudden motions. Never place your hands where they can't be seen. Never give a false name or any other false information. Memorize the officer's name and the vehicle number. Your ultimate goal is to get home alive so you can get a lawyer if you need one.

• Don't hang out where police regularly cruise. If you do, you're asking for trouble. Police cruise trouble spots.

• Don't make yourself an object of suspicion. Don't, for example, stand on corners holding a brown bag. You make the police think you're carrying an open container of alcohol, which is illegal. Don't stand on corners drinking from brown bags. Don't drink from brown bags while you're walking on a public sidewalk or street.

• Don't regularly hang out around abandoned buildings that have broken windows and busted doors and trashy yards.

• If you're being arrested, don't resist and multiply your problems. You can't win by resisting.

• Don't engage in unlawful behavior. For example, when you attend a party, don't join others in blocking city streets. You need a permit from the city to block a street. The city has a noise ordinance, meaning that you and fellow partygoers need to stop playing loud music and making other kinds of noise after a certain hour.

• Put the names of your parents, an attorney, your principal, a teacher, a close friend, a role model, a mentor, a bail bondsman and others on speed dial in your cell phone.

• This may be difficult to swallow, but find a way to see the police as your protector, not your natural enemy. Your relationship with the police will change for the better. I promise.

• Stay away from peers who hate the police. These trash-talking friends are nothing but trouble waiting to happen.

• Don't listen to adults who paint the police as your mortal enemy. Such adults are irresponsible. They don't have your best interests at heart. They have wrong-headed personal agendas that will get them attention or money.

Obviously, this list could go on and on. But I think the main points have been made: You have personal and civil rights, but you can't exercise those rights if you're dead. Only living persons can exercise their rights.

When you leave your house and step into the public sphere, you have responsibilities for yourself and for others. Before you act, think about the undeserved pain and hurt and destruction you will leave behind because of your machismo, your stupidity, your selfishness and your desire to fit in.

When all is said and done, you can take control of much of your fate. In large measure, your survival is in your hands.

Comments on this article

by Stephanie	Jun 14, 2008 11:44 PM
This article is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Survival for young Black men? How about just using some common sense? Shooting guns at a party is STUPID, parents need to take more responsibility and pay attention to their kids.

by joe	Jun 14, 2008 11:44 PM
It all boils down to lack of parenting. Too many black parents don't teach their kids respect, manners, work ethic, responsibility, character, etc. In short, they don't teach them to be productive members of society, only to exploit society.

by Bill	Jun 14, 2008 11:44 PM
LOL! survival guide = have common sense

by Joan	Jun 14, 2008 11:44 PM
"Some blacks, including Dawson's father, say the officer murdered the teen." Sure, and a whole lot of other blacks say the kid was stupid and got exactly what was coming to him. We wouldn't hear this much static if the officer was black.

by Jacks	Jun 14, 2008 11:43 PM
The biggest problem is that we still have to designate which race someone is when there is a news story. Just say a boy,man,girl or woman. With less race maybe everyone would be treated equal

by Longhaircowboy	Jun 14, 2008 11:41 PM
While that's certainly good advice you put in a place not likely to be seen by the target audience. Try posting to myspace or others.

by Mike	Jun 14, 2008 11:41 PM
Mr. Maxwell, great job. I love the fact that you are black. That being said, people can not complain at what you have written. I am so glad someone in the media wrote something laced with some common sense!

by Jeff	Jun 14, 2008 11:41 PM
Be respectful to others, the bottom line

by John	Jun 14, 2008 11:41 PM
Great piece. Too bad the people who should be reading this...won't

by Joe	Jun 14, 2008 11:41 PM
Good article, unfortunately it goes against the "hate the man, whitey, system" mentality which seems to be engrained into African-American children at a young age. Bad role models? Look no further than the Uhurus

by cracker	Jun 13, 2008 5:22 PM
it's easy,stop acting BLACK,and start acting like you have some sense,until then,well we all know where your going to end up,(DEAD or IN PRISON)

by MIke	Jun 13, 2008 5:22 PM
BAD COPS CARRY THROWDOWNS? Stop watching TV. Great advice from writer, but will be unheard. Reality check here..Do you cop haters really think this cop shot this kid for no reason in front of 200 "witnesses" You think he wants to go to prison?

by Tom D	Jun 13, 2008 5:22 PM
Good advice . But those who could use it don't read past the sport pages.

by joe tampa	Jun 13, 2008 5:21 PM
Add this on: It's not the color of your skin, it's behaving like an animal that most people object to.

by Z	Jun 13, 2008 3:21 PM
You don't need a survival guide at all if you just behave yourself ! Doh !

by Christopher	Jun 13, 2008 3:16 PM
While I agree with most of this list, I still find it more than slightly offensive. Way too many Black men pretty much living by this list have been killed by the police. I live by most of the items on this list and I am still a target.

by james	Jun 13, 2008 3:15 PM
How insuting is this to Black people!! Why do you assume they have no common sense(which is all youre implying)by your "Survival Guide". I dont know what race this author is, but I think this article to be deplorabe. By the way Im white & pissed.

by Jamal	Jun 13, 2008 2:04 PM
As a black man I find this article to be very helpful for those who want to stay out of trouble. I only wish the Uhurus would follow Mr. Maxwell's advice.

by Ray	Jun 13, 2008 2:04 PM
So black men should give up their constitutional right to bear arms because they're black? We tried that once before, it was called slavery and Jim Crow. Doesnt work.. You lost all credibility with the first point.

by white guy	Jun 13, 2008 2:04 PM
i am from chicago and have had police guns leveled on me twice. believe me, if you do not adapt the yes sir/no sir frame of mind that instant, you are in trouble. my advie is, when confronted by police- GROW UP.

by chris	Jun 13, 2008 2:04 PM
While i tend to agree with much of the article, I find it sad that in a 'free' country the youth can't express themselves without fear of reprisal.

by David	Jun 13, 2008 2:04 PM
Knowing that Bill Maxwell is an African-American helps me understand why this was written. Bill's point is that there are things that Black boys can do to SURVIVE. It should be noted that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Think about it!

by Melissa	Jun 13, 2008 2:03 PM
As a mother of a bi-racial son these are the things his father instilled him since he was very young. Helps that his father was military and accepted authority. Dad never accepted acting black as an excuse for stupid behavior.

by lady	Jun 13, 2008 2:02 PM
to truth - I am white and have no intention of ever killing any peson, being white, black, etc. Seems like you have the race issue!

by Concerned	Jun 13, 2008 2:01 PM
Good points except bails bondsmen on speed dial..I don't think so. If people would respect themselves..they have no choice to respect others including the police. All officers are not bad, but a number are on power trips because they're protected.

by re	Jun 13, 2008 2:01 PM
I am just amazed at the number of stories I've heard about people of any race shooting off guns into the air to "celebrate!" Huh? Why do so many today equate stupidity with "fun?"

by doug	Jun 13, 2008 1:59 PM
Why does this have to be a survival guide for young black men? It should be a survival guide for anyone.

by re	Jun 13, 2008 1:59 PM
This is great advice for everyone, not just for young black males. Add to that - don't even try alcohol or other intoxicants if you are under 21. It interferes with your brain development - during the years the decision-making skills are formed!

by Mark	Jun 13, 2008 1:59 PM
You forgot the most important one of all for underage teens (of any race), always use a condom. It may not save your life but it'll greatly improve the quality of many lives around you.

by Sylvia	Jun 13, 2008 1:43 PM
I was a St.Pete Police officer's wife. Some cops are Black.Some cops hate Blacks,most don't.Some cops can't be trusted,most can. And most of them became cops to help people.To meet some friendly cops,take a toy to the Christmas toy shop. Be polite.

by Steve	Jun 13, 2008 1:43 PM
Racial profiling and other tactics exist because they work. Black people commit a disproportionate number of murders. People have a right to be scared, even Jesse Jackson admitted it. They should end affirmative action and people might care.

by Mona	Jun 13, 2008 11:52 AM
To Kathleen: Bad cops carry throw downs.But someone was shooting at this event & if that shooter wasn't Javon Dawson then it could mean the real shooter threw the gun down nearby.

by CRW	Jun 13, 2008 11:51 AM
Francine's comments provide further insight into why many african american kids choose not to do well in school...they're afraid their peers will label them white (uncle tom). What a shame. Holding your own people back.

by doug	Jun 13, 2008 11:51 AM
Why does this have to be a survival guide for young black men? It should be a survival guide for anyone.

by Concerned	Jun 13, 2008 11:51 AM
Reference to my last comment...Although some officers are crooked...We should still respect them to the utmost...because without the good ones the world would be in worse trouble than we are now...Pinellas County Sheriff's the best!!St.Pete need them