myths & facts about gun-violence in black communities

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 The suggestion that Black people are predisposed to violence dates as far back as 1896 when it was included in the first nationwide report on racial crime data. That report did not go unnoticed or unchallenged, as Jameelah Nasheed points out in this column: “[In response to that report, W.E.B.] Du Bois made two points that we’re still grappling with more than 120 years later: the different ways in which Black and white Americans are treated by our justice system, 

• Each day on average, 30 Black Americans are killed by guns and more than 110 experience non-fatal injuries. 

•  This disparity is the result of centuries of oppression and disinvestment. Gun homicides, assaults, and police shootings all occur at a disproportionate rate in historically underfunded communities. This underfunding is the result of past racist policymaking and perpetuates long-standing racial inequities.  

•  The gun lobby claims that having a gun will make you safer. This myth isn’t unique to the Black community, but in recent years it has been used by militia and other gun groups to specifically target Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. These groups suggest that Black people must be armed to protect themselves because they can’t trust law enforcement and/or because they must be ready to defend themselves against racially-motivated violence. But the truth is, having a firearm actually increases an individual’s risk of injury or death. Defensive gun use is rare when compared with harmful gun use. It is far more likely that a firearm will be used in a suicide or unintentional shooting or that it will be stolen than that it will be effectively used for self defense. 

•  The racist myth of so-called “Black-on-Black crime,” suggests that there is a rampant crime problem within Black communities. It perpetuates the myth that intraracial violence is specific to the Black community and that Black people are inherently violent—a myth that has been used to justify the mistreatment of Black people in the United States for centuries.  

 In general, white people commit crimes against other white people at about the same rate as Black people do against other Black people. Despite the facts, no one ever decries the “white-on-white crime” problem.    

•  For decades, Black leaders, community members, and local officials have been driving effective solutions to gun violence like violence interruption programs that engage people with lived experience to mediate conflicts and mentor young people who are most likely to be victims of perpetrators of gun violence. These programs need data and sustained funding to continue and expand their reach.  Donations can be made out to G.E.M and mailed to 204 Inglewood Drive Rochester, NY 14619. non profit organization, 501c3