Community members and leaders recently met to discuss the impact of gun violence in their neighborhoods and voice possible solutions.
The Indianapolis City-County Council partnered with Crossroads Public Affairs to host four community conversations that brought together community leaders, members and subject-matter experts to engage in meaningful dialogue on various topics.
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“I’m a dad, I’m a brother, and I’m a son. In 2021, we had over 180 Black people killed and 150 of them were Black males. We don’t talk about it anywhere near enough that we should,” said the Chairman of the Indianapolis Commission on African American Males Marshawn Wolley.
“When Black males are removed from our community, they impact families. That’s an economic impact and a trauma impact. We have to, as a community, come together to figure out how to do something.”
The information and recommendations gathered from the conversations will be documented by the Indianapolis Commission on African American Males (ICAAM). This will be for future studies and recommendations.
“As part of our work, they’ve asked us to do a systematic study of the plight of African American males. We were charged with trying to develop policy solutions because of it,” said Wolley.
“With each conversation we’re having, we share data with the community so that they can learn information, and then we’re trying to get community solutions. We gather that data and try to turn it into policy recommendation that will either go to the City-County Council or the General Assembly.”
Community conversations
The Indy Peace Fellowship presented criminal homicide data for this year.
The average age of homicide victims is 32.
There have been 83 male homicide victims, compared to 22 females; 71 of the victims were Black while only 32 were white and two were Latino.
Between the ages of 18-35 there have been 57 homicide victims; two victims younger than 10; nine victims between 11-17 years old; nine victims between 35-40 years old; 11 victims between 41-50 years old; and 14 victims between 51-50 years old.
There have been only three homicide victims 60 years or older.
93 of the homicides this year were due to gun violence; 7 were caused by blunt force trauma; one was the result of a stabbing; one was caused by vehicular homicide; and three causes remain unknown.
35 of the homicides were reported from the Eastside of Indianapolis; 27 from the North; eight from the Northwest; 16 from the Southeast; 15 from the Southwest; and three from Downtown.
The community conversations signify a collective determination to address gun violence in Indianapolis. They sparked debates on solutions and what should be done by lawmakers and city officials.
There have been previous ICAAM sponsored community conversations on mental health. ICAAM will host a study on education gaps in September and Black business development in the near future.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at 317-607-5792 or by email jadej@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON
