Have We Surrendered to Gun Violence in Urban America? Federal Neglect Stymies Efforts to Stop the Slaughter Among Young Black Men

Abstract

For the last three decades, young Black men in the United States have been killed in gun violence at rates more than double any other group, which threatens to wipe out an entire generation. The reasons for the carnage have not been adequately investigated due to a federal ban on gun research, fueled by the massive lobbying power of the National Rifle Association. With no leadership from the federal government and lawmakers’ refusal to pass tougher gun policies, a patchwork of violence prevention efforts has emerged at the local level. The programs that appear to have had the greatest success in reducing homicides approach gun violence as a public health issue and address problems such as unemployment, substance abuse, and childhood trauma in young men. However, those programs are underfunded, and the national gun homicide toll has begun to climb again after a decade of relative stability. The public’s attention—and thus policy makers’ focus—seems to have shifted from urban homicides to mass shootings. In this essay, I argue that, because the gun homicide crisis disproportionately impacts young Black men, it will not get the attention nor federal funding it deserves until the Black community rises up to demand it.