We’ve been seeing our youth and elders plastered all over the news because of gun violence in the black community. The cowardly and senseless acts of violence have destroyed us all and it’s only getting worse. Just last year Laquan McDonald (17) was shot (16 times) and killed by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. This year a 9 year old was lured from a playground and shot in the head because of his father's gang ties. A simple conversation turned into reality as the men of Alpha were fed up with the violence that is happening in Chicago. Over 100 brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. gathered in the snow to hold an anti-violence rally in the city on November 21, 2015. This march was the beginning of activism taking place on 79th
Every day 297 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, unintentional shootings, and police intervention. Everyday 89 people die from gun violence, 31 of those people are murdered. Today I'm going to be talking about the social justice issue of gun violence. Gun violence, death and injury from firearms is a major issue in all parts of our world. Gun violence continues to affect young people, lower-income people, and communities of color. This social justice and public health issue occurs in places all over the world, however it has become such an epidemic in the United States that it will result in gun violence being one of the main topics in the 2016 presidential election. There are many causes for gun violence, for example, in this day and age pop culture influence is the greatest cause of gun violence. Guns have also became more accessible and easy to obtain. Poor identification and treatment of mentally ill people is another significant cause for gun violence.
Imagine heartbreak, loved ones dying, and losing hope. This has transpired for many in America today, all because of gun violence. It has become a great problem for our society in recent years. Data from Every Town Research has shown In their article Gun Violence by the Numbers “...that on an average day, 93 Americans are killed with guns...For every one person killed, two are injured” Many will deny that gun violence is a dilemma, but it is. Most do not realize this but, over 62% of the deaths that occur are suicides, and just over 1,642 people killed by gun violence were accidental. There is something very wrong here, and something needs to change quickly. If so many of these deaths are incidental, and
As I witnessed the videos and sound recordings of the police killings of these Black youth: Trayvon Martin, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Darnisha Harris, I, too, lost hope for racial equality and developed a fear of law enforcement that still exists to this day. These emotions are quite common amongst Black youth, yet the presence of such is
Murders with firearms have had an enormous impact on males.An American lawyer from Los Angeles California “The No. 1 cause of preventable death for young black men is not auto accidents or accidental drowning, but homicide” Larry Elder. Regardless, in female rates, there have been 2.3 also during the last two years. In 2014, the homicide rate for black male teens was 46 per 100,000 people, which is over 20 times higher than the rate for white men.“Homicide through gun violence is the leading cause of death among young African-American males in the United States if people look in a different perspective, they have a higher tendency of dying and having their lives taken away (Ryan Coogler).”. Although, for women, black and Hispanic had the highest homicide rates in 2014.Rather than for teens the males have had the upper rates for homicides than women during their teen
As we have seen in the past gun violence has happened in schools, church, and places of business. This lets me know that it does not discriminate and nothing and nobody is off limits. Sometimes I wonder will it ever end. It is like society just seems to be desensitizing to the human loss and suffering especially within the black community. It is like we are at war with ourselves. There are many different factors that can be blamed for this problem. However, I am a firm believer that we can turn away from violence and rebuild our communities, but we must first start with the respect of human life. Somewhere along the way we have disregarded that. We must come together and take back our communities from the evil and fear that comes with all of this gun violence and senseless acts of crime.
Over the past decade, police brutality has covered major headlines because officers have acted out in ways that have made citizens question their motives. Things such as unjustified shootings, deadly chokings, and rough treatment have all added to the constant problem of police brutality in the black community. Annoyingly, the police officers responsible for the killings and abuse are not held for long before they are discharged to their normal routines. Since many people believe that the issues of police brutality is based on race, officers should be held accountable for their misconduct. Accountability will permit officers to treat all with equality; therefore using the appropriate amount of force on everyone. Often cops are indicted in less than 1% of killings, but the indictment rate for citizens is 90% which is a major problem. If someone does wrong they should suffer the consequence no matter who they are. As a result of misconduct officers tend be mistrusted by their communities. Deaths in the black community often stems from police officers using excessive force such as assaults, beating and shootings.
With the many conversations about the African-American communities and their issues with gang violence, government assistance, and the lack of jobs in their communities it is clear to say that the American Dream or even a moderate lifestyle was not created for all African Americans and Minorities and since we found a way to be noticed, heard, and felt like they’re rightfully a part of something America wants to now label it “war or Drugs” and “gang Violence” thus creating Gang Injunctions in those predominantly of color communities. Now I am not stating that the violence is not present, innocent lives are not being taken, nor are drugs consuming our communities, but what I am saying is that they act as if there is no other approach that could help clean up the streets, provide piece and harmony among all communities, and solve issues for the betterment of the community. Instead they are removing them from their communities, threatening them from going to their neighborhood, and as a consequence they get jail time, an institution that already houses half if not more than half of our black men. The gang injunction initiative is set up to tear apart the minority communities through driving up the prices and making them move, especially if they have a family member who is under the injunction’s rules. Its ironic how they put them in such enclosed space, while they make suburban home for the economically fit causing them to commute and now they are systematically removing them
It has spread to the suburbs and small towns. Gun violence rates have increased in the last decade due to hatred and societal issues, and while shooters and victims both face many difficult obstacles, there are some solutions that the public and schools can enforce through awareness.
According to the Toronto Police Service, in 2016 alone there has been an astonishing 190 incidents involving gun violence, with 39 of them resulting in death. This has been a 50% increase from the previous year. So how must we combat this incessant and utterly unnecessary bloodshed on the streets of Toronto? Well, first we must make a distinction that guns do not kill people, but rather, people kill people. This highlights that gun violence is not primarily due to the weapon itself, but the social conditions that instigate such altercations. Therefore, we must make an effort to increase the communal services available to those situated in areas with a history of gun violence. Particularly, these
The Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida on June 12, 2016 was the single largest massacre in U.S history, taking the lives of 50 individuals, including the shooter himself, and injuring 53 others. This is one extreme example of the gun violence that has been occurring in this country, but mass shootings like this and the one at Newton in 2012 are only a small part of our gun violence issue. The everyday gun violence that takes place in cities all across the United States claims the lives of thousands every single year. According to The Guardian, 33,500 civilians die each year because of gun brutality- “that’s about 1 life every 15 minutes” (Beckett). Between the years of 1999 and 2013, there were 464,003 gun deaths in the U.S, about 58% of them were suicides 37% were homicides. (ProCon.org) Gun violence and the consequences of that violence, have become a real and dangerous problem in the U.S , why else would the CDC list the United States as having the highest rate of gun violence out of all developed countries today? (Gale Opposing Viewpoints) This issue is not just attributable to a single factor, there are several that play an important part in why gun violence is such an issue in the U.S, namely laws and poverty; and in these causes we can also find solutions.
The issues of gun violence and crimes has been a major concern in the life of every American citizen. While these issues affect everyone, however black people especially black men and youths are more likely to be victims.With each passing day, the chances of living a normal life without fear of being killed or injured is becoming very difficult and impossible for black people in America. Gun violence and crimes seems to have become a public health crisis and epidermis that won't easily go away unless effective action are taken. Most black people are beginning to learn how to adjust to this new norms. The major concern of most black families at this point is the safety of
The value of person is taken for granted when their lives are claimed so easily, more specifically by the hands of their own. The very act of shooting a gun at someone almost desensitizes the thought of taking someone else’s life, no longer seen, or loved, or cherished by their loved ones. To think so lowly of a person, enough to the point that their life is seen as disposable, is disrespectful, and the ones truly not getting this is the black people themselves. Black related homicide has sky rocketed over the last year claiming 400 of the 550 lives taken in Chicago in 2016 alone (McClelland). Gang related violence has contributed greatly with the use of
I have been living in the Saint Louis area for seventeen years, and I have witnessed the consequences caused by the loose regulation of guns. Many guns, including military-grade weapons, have been circulating into the wrong hands of individuals in the region. Because of this, the crime rate in the Saint Louis area has been on the rise as well. As a St.Louis resident, I am often informed of the harsh results related to gun violence; News stations throughout the region report the jarring records of deaths and other injuries related to firearms. As months progress, I started to realize that my city was making a turn for the worst. Gun control, being a relevant social issue in St.Louis, was affecting not just the victims, but the families, friends, and the overall communities. I started to ponder why my hometown was having such a massive issue over guns. Although I have not been personally affected by gun violence, I do not want to become a bystander to these casualties.Rather, I desire to improve this issue
An issue in society that I feel should be highly addressed as a priority is gun violence. Gun violence should be top priority in the community and in the world from a broad perspective. The reasons for my beliefs are the fact that innocent children are dying because of ignorant acts of violence by the hands of the youth, with guns. This should be a priority, to inform the communities that educating ourselves on our youth and how they are considered the future and if we do not snatch them up and teach them life, it can wipe out civilization to a certain degree of a particular race. Since the Trayvon Martin incident, which happened almost four years ago, I have noticed that the shootings in certain areas have increased significantly. Not only is this an issue that is progressing, these issues are mainly brought to the forefront when people feel the “system” or law enforcement has done an injustice act. I chose to address gun violence because I saw the news recently and it showed that guns are becoming problematic in this country. In addition, in my neighborhood, I have witnessed over (10) ten shootings, which have been at the hands of the youth. We see that there is a correlation between gun violence and the youth within the African-American community. It should be one of the country’s highest urgency to address because children are more likely to buy a gun than actually finish school. This is a
People from black communities are undoubtedly overrepresented in the forensic mental health system, this anomaly is impacted heavily by the fact that the system seriously disadvantages black people within their remit (Narco, 2007; Department of Health, 2003). African-Caribbean people are more likely to receive coercive forms of care, spend longer in hospital and experience greater rates of transfer to higher security facilities (NIMHE, 2003 cited in Vige, 2005). Figures show that, at each heightened level of security in the psychiatric process, black people are increasingly overrepresented, from informal to civil detention, and then in detention on forensic sections within the courts and criminal justice system. Evidence, establishing the