As summer approaches, the need to get a handle on the gun violence that is being perpetrated in recent weeks by and against Atlanta’s teens and young adults has taken center stage.
After two deadly weekends in a row claimed the lives of 16-year-old Tianah Robinson and 12-year-old Cameron Coney and left other kids wounded, local political and community leaders have recognized that something needs to change.
For National Youth Violence Prevention Week, leaders handed the microphone over to the young people who are most impacted by these issues. Black youth and young adults are disproportionately impacted by violence, which can lead to poor mental and physical health outcomes as they enter adulthood.
At City Hall on Thursday, the Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction joined with Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light — an international nongovernmental organization — to convene a discussion with teens and local anti-violence advocates to discuss root causes and potential solutions.
The youth representatives, 17-year-old Shamya Slaughter and 16-year-old Sonali Thomas, talked about feeling that a lot of the time, adults weren’t open to hearing what young people have to say.
“Our generation, we need people to understand us. Some people, they’re emotional; we’re more emotional than adults, [but] we just want them to hear us,” Thomas said.
Slaughter also pointed out that despite Atlanta’s reputation as a hub for the entertainment industry, there aren’t many opportunities for young people to get entry-level jobs. She said employment and being able to earn money would allow for more young people to see a clear path to a stable adult life. Recent research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found 30% unemployment for youth in Georgia between the ages of 15 and 24.
“[You’re] so used to being viewed as a threat or oppressed in a certain way. If you give them the amount of trust and respect that they should earn having been a young adult, you will see progress, I think,” Slaughter said.
Across town, Cities United, a national organization trying to redefine public safety, brought together young people and local organizers for discussion about what violence intervention looks like in their communities.
“Everybody has a role to play,” Anthony Smith, Cities United’s executive director, told Capital B Atlanta. “We believe everybody’s a part of the public safety ecosystem, and you’ve got to value each piece for what [they] bring to the table.”
Smith also praised Atlanta’s “strong ecosystem” of local violence prevention organizations called the Circle of Safety that meets quarterly to share data and resources about their work.
Throughout this week, he and Cities United partnered with Ricky “Dip” Usher, founder of WiiCare, a violence interruption organization based in Mechanicsville, and Tekesia “TK” Shields, founder of South Atlanta-based Mothers Against Gang Violence.
Atlanta was the final stop on a 19-city tour that Cities United began last spring. To support the goal of making public safety a community-led project, the group recruited 15 young people for a two-day workshop designed to prepare them to become ambassadors for violence prevention in their own neighborhoods.
“I want to thank my mentor for staying on me and keeping me on the right path,” said Jacob McCord, one of the youth participants at the closing dinner. “Ms. TK and coach Dip for motivating me and helping me during my healing process. I had fun connecting with my peers and seeing us all transform into hopefully leaders one day.”
Smith emphasized that it is crucial that young people remain at the center of violence prevention work.
“Not just as they receive services, but that they become leaders in the work and they become the folks who we go to for solutions,” he said.
Read More:
