Race and Homicide in the United States
Graph of the Week
This week’s graphs show the number of homicides committed by white and black individuals in the United States between 1976 and 2019. Graphs 2 and 3 contain the same data as Graph 1. Graphs 2 and 3 were created so that the data can be viewed on different scales.
Graph 1: All Homicide Scenarios
Between 1976 and 2019, intra-racial homicides were much more common than inter-racial homicides.
Between 1976 and 2019, 221,027 white individuals were killed by other white individuals, and 211,039 black individuals were killed by other black individuals.
When inter-racial homicides occurred, they were more likely to involve a black perpetrator and a white victim (36,404 homicides) than a white perpetrator and a black victim (14,350 homicides). In 2019, 566 white individuals were killed by black individuals, whereas 246 black individuals were killed by white individuals.
The number of homicides for all scenarios decreased during the mid- and late-1990s but then eventually plateaued. The significant drop in homicides between 2005 and 2006 is likely the result of changes in reporting of homicides at the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Graph 2: Intra-racial Homicides
Graph 3: Inter-racial Homicides
Bonus Commentary
The data in the graph show that most homicides are intra-racial not inter-racial. Thus, when white individuals commit homicide, they are more likely to kill white than black individuals. Similarly, when black individuals commit homicide, they are more likely to kill black than white individuals. However, when inter-racial homicides do occur, they are more likely to involve a black individual killing a white individual than vice versa.
Also, the data in the graph represent absolute numbers of homicides. They do not account for differences in population size. Given that black and white individuals comprise about 62% and 12% of the U.S. population, respectively, rates of both intra-racial and inter-racial homicide are higher among black than white individuals. Moreover, death from homicide is a contributor to shorter life expectancy among males than females, and this is particularly true for black males, who have significantly shorter life expectancies than males of most other races in the U.S.
Overall, these data challenge the mainstream media’s heightened attention on the topic of racism and inter-racial homicide. Most homicides are intra-racial, and when inter-racial homicides do occur, they are more likely to involve a black individual killing a white individual than vice versa. Racism is probably not a fundamental driver of homicide in the U.S.
Sources
FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005 in Fox JA, Zawitz MW, Dept. Justice - Bureau of Justice Statistics. Homicide Trends in the United States.
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I first learned about this from Thomas Sowell and I was shocked because like you say: "these data challenge the mainstream media’s heightened attention on the topic of racism and inter-racial homicide."
As you pointed out many times the same thing goes for violence against women and girls; the media attention goes to female victims of violence but most victims of violence are men and boys.
Meanwhile the media wonders why less and less people want to pay for their work.
Keep up the good work James.
I, too, love Sowell. As I was writing a paper discovering correlations between fatherless homes and juvenile crime, I noticed the pattern of decreased crime at the same time frame you mentioned, the 90s. One likelihood that appeared in my research on this was the 1994 crime bill that Senator Biden wrote and President Clinton signed. The aftermath of this bill was a significant reduction in crime of all types across all demographics. Just another possiblity.