Finalist: Gun Violence Epidemic
This Premier category recognizes a photographer’s extended story about the everyday life of people who make up a community. The purpose is to encourage attention to the small events in life that are often overshadowed by news and celebrate images that reflect the experiences and dreams of humankind.
A “community” may be defined as a neighborhood, a town, a commune, a rural agricultural area, a city subdivision, or socioeconomic region.
Parishioners from Kingdom Life Church pray with violence interrupters from the Safe Streets program after a mass shooting during a block party at the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood of Baltimore MD on July 2, 2023. 2 people were killed: Kylis Fagbemi, 20 and Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18. 28 were wounded including15 minors. The annual block party became the worst mass shooting in Baltimore’s history. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 656 mass shooting alone in the U.S. this year which does not include individual incidents that occur daily in cities like Baltimore. The total number of deaths by guns is 33, 886. Number of teens (12-17) killed 1,130 and injured 3,166. Children (0-11) killed 236 and injured 531.
Gun Violence Epidemic
A mother wails, “My baby, my baby!” as she tucks her son in and the coffin closes. Tamika Linbrith’s pain is primal and unrelenting for Kylis Fagbemi, 20, victim of a mass shooting that left 2 dead and 28 wounded at a block party in Baltimore MD in what has become an epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. ‘He was my protector, my heart,’ she wept. ‘I shouldn’t have to bury my child.’
Kylis' cousin, Kavon Lewis is recovering from gunshot wounds. ‘It was straight horror for real. The bullet was two inches from my heart,’ he said. Too often it is young people doing the shooting and doing the dying. Historically underserved communities and racial inequities contribute to a culture of violence with a disproportionate number of African Americans dead or incarcerated. Counselors talk about emotional trauma that injures the soul leading to a loss of hope that kills as much as any bullet. According to the Gun Violence Archive there have been 656 mass shootings nationwide, which doesn’t include daily incidents in cities like DC metro area where homicides are up 35%. Society is becoming desensitized to a war zone in backyards in this tragic new normal. As policy-makers debate gun control the body count rises with innocents caught in the crossfire.
Joshua Starr's family looked down from their balcony where forensic investigators documented shell casings and bloody clothes. A quadruple shooting left 2 dead and 2 critically wounded at a corner market. Trish Harris, 35, died at the scene, leaving behind 3 children days before Christmas. ‘See those holes,’ said a neighbor. ‘Imagine what that gun did to someone’s head.’ Loved ones shed tears then danced into the night after a passionate celebration of her life. Cle’ Shai Perry, 18 was at her apartment playground when a hail of bullets cut her life short. She loved pink and the services were showered in vivid hues of her favorite color. She looked like a still angel in the casket, wrapped in a pink suit. There has emerged a subculture for final farewells. Rituals include balloon releases, elaborate decorations, and a life-size cutout of the departed where friends pose for selfies at the repast. Aftershocks are crippling and life-changing for families and towns. Solution based initiatives are part of an epic battle to save our youth and, in many ways, our humanity.
Soon there is another body in a pool of blood, another vigil, another mother’s tears as she cries ‘My baby, my baby…’
