b'BODY OF CHRIST NEWS MAGAZINE THE EPIDEMIC OF BLACK HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATIONmationsubmitted(forexample,gang involvement),willvaryfromagencyto agency. While this study utilizes the best and most recent data available, it is limited by the quantity and degree of detail in the in-formation submitted.NATIONALDATAAccordingtotheFBISHRdata,in 2020therewere9,753Blackhomicide victimsin the United States. The homicide rate among Black vic-tims in the United States was 23.41 per 100,000. For that year, the overall national homicide rate was 6.03 per 100,000. For whites, the national homicide rate was 3.24 per 100,000. The Black homicide victimization rate was nearlyfourtimestheoverallhomicidevictimization Thedev- rate (23.41 per 100,000 compared to 6.03 per 100,000) astationho- and seven times the white homicide victimization rate micideinflictson(23.41per100,000comparedto3.24per100,000). BlackteensandadultsFrom2019to2020,theBlackhomicidevictimization is an ongoing national crisis, yet itrate increased by 29 percent (from 18.08 per 100,000 is all too often ignored outside of affected communi- in 2019 to 23.41 per 100,000 in 2020). The rate of 23.41 ties. This study examines the issue of Black homicideper100,000in2020 wasthehighestBlackhomicide victimization at the state level by analyzing un- victimization rate in the 17-year history of this study. publishedSupplementaryHomicideRe- Additional information contained in the FBI SHR data on port (SHR) data for Black homicide vic- Black homicide victimization is below. timization submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).1 TheSEX Of the 9,753 Black homicide victims, 8,398 (86 per-information used for this reportcent) were male, 1,352 (14 percent) were female, and Coloradois for the year 2020 and is thethree were of unknown sex (less than one percent). The mostrecentdataavailable.homicide rate for Black male victims was more than four This is the first analysis of thetimes the overall rate for male homicide victims (41.92 2020 data on Black homicideper100,000comparedto9.83per100,00)andmore ranks #16 victims to offer breakdownsthan eight times the rate for white male homicide vic-ofcasesinthe10statestims (41.92 per 100,000 compared to 4.84 per 100,000). with the highest Black homi- The homiciderateforBlack cidevictimizationratesandfemalevictims in US. the first to rank the states byw a s the rate of Black homicide vic-tims. It is important to note that the SHR data used in this report comesfromlawenforcement reportingatthelocallevel.While there are coding guidelines followed by the law enforcement agencies, the amount of information submitted to the SHR system, and the interpretation of how to categorize infor-11 BOCNEWS.COM'