| |  | | | John, Truly addressing gun violence and systemic racism demands that we search for words that are accurate and tell the truth about what we are witnessing. When Jacob Blake was shot in his back 7 times by a police officer, we watched. One more time a black man was shot by a police officer and is now paralyzed. Another black man became a hashtag. Jacob's children witnessed their father being shot and will feel that trauma forever. Jacob will never recover his life as it was, and, his community will once again be asked to move on. On Wednesday of this past week, I listened to Deja Garner, the community organizer for Wisconsin Against Violence Education Fund, talk about her work and I found hope and courage. Deja worked with groups on the ground in Kenosha, marched, and organized youth leaders. She worked with local and national leaders to call on the governor to bring a special session that would address police violence against Black and Brown residents and put money back into the communities that have been harmed by racism. Gun Violence and racism demand courage to speak truth to power, and the centering of love and trust. Deja has acted and spoken in the ways of honest leadership. She has once again, like other youth leaders that I have had the pleasure of working with in person, showed me there will be change. And, I am ready to learn more from her. There is no single policy or way of working that will solve systemic racism or gun violence, but by listening to our elders, centering Black and Brown voices, finding our places, and using the right language driven by love, we will keep moving forward. Onward, Clai Lasher-Sommers Executive Director States United to Prevent Gun Violence *Wisconsin Against Violence Epidemic Education Fund is an affiliate of States United to Prevent Gun Violence | | | | | |  | Concert Across America - October 7, 2020 States United is proud to be a sponsor of this year's Concert Across America to End Gun Violence. The first Concert Across America, organized by Stop Handgun Violence (MA) in 2016, produced more than 350 gun violence prevention events featuring more than 5,000 musicians in 44 states. Since then, the Concert Across America has continued to raise awareness and funds for numerous GVP organizations. We hope you'll join us for this year’s virtual concert and fundraiser featuring performances by music icons including Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Kevin Bacon/The Bacon Brothers, Wynton Marsalis and the entire Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Rhiannon Giddens, and more rock, folk, blues, jazz, and choral legends. There will also be a celebrity auction with items such as Zoom meet-and-greets with award-winning movie and TV stars including Jason Alexander, one-on-one Zoom fitness sessions with celebrity trainers, customized Nikes, cooking lessons, and a lot more fun and valuable life-changing experiences. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit States United to Prevent Gun Violence. Find more information at facebook.com/ConcertAcrossAmerica | | | | | | | | Data Highlight: Wisconsin Compared to other states in 2018 (including the District of Columbia), Wisconsin’s gun death rate ranked 41st out of the 50 states plus Washington D.C. at 10.2 deaths per 100,000 people, a rate lower than the national average of 11.9 deaths per 100,000 people. Over the most recent decade for which data are available (2009-2018), 72% of all gun deaths in Wisconsin were suicides and 24% were homicides, while the remainder were unintentional unknown intent, or law enforcement intervention. During this decade, Wisconsin’s gun death rate increased by 28%while the rate of gun deaths across the United States increased by 18%. In Wisconsin, Black males were disproportionately impacted by gun homicide. In 2018, Black males were 29 times more likely to die by gun homicide than White males. Over the decade, gun homicide death rates increased among both Black (+64%) and white (+40%) males. | | | | | |
