b'SCRIPTUREBlack Youths Suffer the Most from Gun Violence in AmericaBy Hazel Trice Edney thingdifferentinthe past,sayspsychia-tristRahnKennedy S ierraJenkins,aformernewsassistantforBaileychairmanof CNNandreporterwiththeVirginianPilotthe department of psy-newspaper,washeadedforthepeakofherchiatryatLouisiana career. Her colleagues praised her for her jour- State University in New nalisticacumenandherrespectforreportingOrleans.Ourstreets excellence. have been flooded with But when her editor tried to call her to assignguns,alotofguns. her to cover a shooting in Downtown Norfolk, Va.Wherepeoplehave on March 19 last year, he could get no answer.alwayshadconflicts Way out of character for this young journalist,andhadtoresolveit known for her professionalism and accountabil- in different ways, now ity, there would be a reason for her non-responsetheymightgrabyou that would shock the world. Sierra Jenkins, 25,andshootyouThe was one of the victims of the very shooting thatsheervolumeofguns her editor sought her to cover. are so high, a lot more Asherphonerang,shelaydeadoutsideaviolence happens.popular pizza restaurant, felled by a bullet shotAccording to a report duringanargumentoveraspilleddrink.ShebytheCenterfor was not involved in the dispute and the bulletAmericanProgress, was never intended for her. Nor was it intendedbetween1986and for 25-year-old former high school honor student2008,anaverageof and football linebacker Devon Harris, also killed3.8millionfirearms in the gunfire that night. The news devastatedwere manufactured in thecommunity;theirco-workers,familyandthe United States. The friends. report titled, The Gun Fifteenmonthslater,onJune6thisyear,IndustryinAmerica: onlyabout90milesaway,18-year-oldShawnThe Overlooked Player JacksonwasalsoapromisingyoungAfrican- inaNationalCrisis American. Having just graduated from Huguenot[static1.squarespace.com], then illustrates HighSchool30minutesearlier,helaydeadtherapidannual outside Richmonds Altria Theatre alongside hisgrowth of the gun pro- dents. By comparison, approximately 1.2 million stepfather, Renzo Smith, a U. S. Army veteran.liferation.The3.8millionbetween1986andservice members have been killed in every war Both were killed by bullets from a gun wielded2008 doubled to an annual average of 8.4 mil- in U.S. history, according to estimates from the by a 19-year-old man who targeted the two men,lion firearms per year from 2009 to 2018, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs [va.gov] and iCa-according to police. most accurate recent count by the ATF. sualties.org [icasualties.org].WhethertheshootingswereunintendedorIn the year 2022 alone 4.2 million people inEverytown.org, a gun violence prevention orga-criminally intended for their victims, across theAmerica became new gun owners, according tonization,reportsthatBlackpeople"experience nation - coast to coast - Black people are dispro- the National Shooting Sports Foundation [nssf. 12 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun portionatelydying,beingwoundedbyormen- org] (NSSF), the firearm industrys trade associa- assaultinjuries,andnearly3timesthefatal tallysufferingfromgunviolence.Accordingtotion. In a report [nssf.org], the NSSF estimatesshootings by police of White Americans."the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,in 2022 the firearm and ammunition industry theleadingcauseofdeath[cdc.gov]amongwas responsible for as much as $80.73 billionBut, the disparate impact on the Black com-Americas Black children and young adults agesin total economic activity in America. This doesmunity is not new. It has been long known by 1-44 is homicide by firearms. notcountthethousandsofso-calledghostexperts that African-Americans - just as in the Amidstthiscrisis,sociologists,Blackmentalguns, weapons not traceable because they arecases of most other tragic social statistics - bears healthexpertsandmedicalworkerssayonepurchased secretly online or even made at home. the brunt of the pain of gun violence physically, thing is certain: The travesty has taken its toll onThecompilationsofresultingdeathshavementallyandemotionally;evenindicatingthat Black mental health - largely through fear, stresscomefrommultipledirections.AnNBCNewsgunviolencedramaticallyaffectseducational and grief - while the gun industry is reaping bil- analysis of data [cdc.gov] from the U.S. Centersoutcomes such as test scores.lions of dollars. forDiseaseControlandPrevention[cdc.gov]A study led 20 years ago by Hampton University Thevolumesofgunsarenowsohighthatsays, More Americans have died from gunshotsEndowedProfessorZinaT.Mcgee,concluded manypeoplejustuseaguntosolveconflictin the last 50 years than in all of the wars inthat Studies based on children raised in com-when even that person might have tried some- Americanhistory.Since1968,morethan1.5munities in which violence occurs have shown million Americans have died in gun-related inci- thatdirectencounterswithviolence(eitheras avictimorwitness)increasethelikelihoodof experiencing anxieties, depression, social with-drawal, and difficulties in concentrating. Based on information collected from African-American youthresidinginareasplaguedwithviolence More Americans have died from gunshots in theand crime, Mcgees 2003 study [academia.edu] states that With regard to social class, research last 50 years (more than 1.5 million), than in allindicates that low socio-economic status serves as one of the many environmental factors that of the wars in American history (approximatelycan contribute to the use of violence to resolve conflicts.1.2 million service members) Despitecredibleconclusionsthatmostgun-relatedhomicidesoccurinlow-incomeBlack communities [penntoday.upenn.edu], it is clear Continued on Page 42 SEPTEMBER 2023 BOCNEWS.com'