Baltimore gun violence: More than a statistic | Washington Post
Originally published at www.washingtonpost.com on November 28, 2018.
One day last month, as I was leaving the high school in the McCulloh Homes neighborhood, where I teach, two young students walking home from their elementary school next door followed me to my car. The sometimes unfriendly, adolescent moods of my high school students make me treasure small opportunities to spend time with our young neighbors. They always lift my spirits.
On this particular Monday, just two days before Halloween, the two students were excited to tell me that they had learned at school that day about measuring liquids using liters and milli, milli…. “Milliliters!” the other student quickly helped out. The two future scientists happily explained the costumes that they were eager to wear trick-or-treating on Halloween: Superman and a ladybug.
Because I am new to Baltimore, I attend community events in hopes of learning about the city. That night, I attended a discussion featuring a panel of Baltimore leaders in sectors ranging from police to business to politics. Residents filled the auditorium, all in hopes of searching for a way to solve our city’s growing crisis. The discussion centered around the unresting violence in our city, the complexity of the problem and solutions our leaders were envisioning. It was inspiring to see members across our city joined together, fighting for a common cause.
Stark reality set in the next day.
While I was walking out of my school to end the day, I heard the sound of gunshots. I looked around and saw a man in our parking lot holding the side of his body, slowly falling to the ground. Within seconds, police and ambulances were on the scene. Within minutes, a police helicopter was scanning the area above our heads. Members of the community huddled around the wounded man.
When I got home, I searched the news to learn more about the shooting that had gone on in my school’s parking lot. Almost no coverage whatsoever. Just another shooting in West Baltimore.
Living here in Baltimore, I hear about our gun violence in terms of numbers all the time. Just numbers. Even when listening to our city’s leaders discuss the hundreds of deaths from gun violence in our city each year, it was just numbers.
We have to stop thinking that way. Fifteen minutes separated multiple gunshots from the time when elementary students walk home from school every day. When I think about this, I can’t help to think of the tragedy that could have happened.
This was not just another shooting. This is not just another statistic. We need to understand the severity of this problem not just by looking at data but by looking at the faces of our children who live in this environment. From the leaders in our city to the people in our communities, we need to look for solutions like our lives depend on it. Because for two elementary students walking home from school in West Baltimore, they do.
Originally published at www.washingtonpost.com on November 28, 2018.
