As it is with mass incarceration, police misconduct, and all other urgent issues falling under the social-justice umbrella, vast inequality is one of the most prominent features of gun violence in America. Black men, just 6 percent of the U.S. population, are the victims of more than half of all gun homicides; black women disproportionately suffer from domestic violence shootings; and guns kill nearly 10 times more black children than they do white children each year. And while the murder rate has fallen nationwide, not everyone benefited equally from that decline: Black and brown neighborhoods across the country maintain shooting rates high enough to shock the nation’s conscience. In this panel, we will shed light on the major inequities fixed into America’s gun crisis, and why budding journalists and established reporters interested in social justice issues should see gun violence as a beat ripe with opportunities for investigative journalism.
Suggested Speaker(s)
- Akoto Ofori-Atta (Ko_616)
Senior Editor, The Trace - Nadege Green (@NadegeGreen)
Social Justice Reporter, WLRN, South Florida's NPR station