Shakell James
Managing Editor
Jackson State University’s Girls Against Gun Violence, in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts, held their Let’s Talk Gun Violence event to kickstart Black History Month. The event was held in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium on Feb.7, 2025.
The event began with the introduction of the panelists as well as a Kahoot presentation for the high school students who were present. The panel consisted of Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones, City of Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade, City of Jackson Deputy Chief Marco Johnson, and Chief of Police for Jackson State’s Public Safety Eric Stanton.
A conversation on guidance for the youth sparked a lively conversation.
Wade pointed out the large gun availability among teens, believing that people in local neighborhoods are easily contributing to putting the gun in the hands of some youth.
This conversation led to a deep dive among the panelists on the disconnect between the youth and law enforcement.
The panelists discussed the causes of the disconnect, including police brutality, social media, or watching loved loves being locked up.
Janiyah Taylor, a sophomore psychology major from St. Louis, Mo., explained that the youth will get attention one way or another.
“Overall, I feel like this was a great event and we got the opinion of the youth. [Some youth feel that] the only way they can be seen or heard is to act out. It was a great event to bridge a gap between the police force and the African-American community to reinstate the lack of trust that the community has in the police,” said Taylor.
According to The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss., has recorded 111 homicides in 2024.
“It means that we have 100 families here in the city of Jackson who are suffering,” Wade stated in the Clarion-Ledger interview.
Stanton emphasized that choices have consequences, whether they are good or bad.
“We have bad family members, bad officers, and bad church members. Whatever organization there is, there’s going to be good and bad,” said Stanton. “Look in the mirror before you judge anybody.”
Jones mentioned that those who want to form a relationship with law enforcement have to be willing to accept it.
The rest of the panelists then proceeded to advise those who are looking to establish a connection with law enforcement. These indicators include:
- Get to know officers for yourself
- Do not let someone else’s encounters determine your whole perspective of law enforcement.
Jones believes that this advice is a starting point to shift the relationship between the youth and law enforcement but does not take away from the fact that everyone’s experience is different.
Gerardo Baeza, a junior business administration major from Boaz, Ala., had this to say about what it means to hear young people engaged in such an important discussion.
“My overall opinion of this event was that it was a great experience for the young women and men in this community. I believe that there was a lot of good knowledge spilled into the young people from the high schools. Like they said, it’s not cool to have a gun or violence, which is not okay,” said Baeza.
Hunter Burns, a senior interdisciplinary studies major from Charleston, W.Va., is familiar with the topic.
“I thought the event went fine. I had these in high school, where people would come to talk to us. I feel like it would help sometimes, but not everybody, because you have to want to be the change. I grew up in a community where everybody had guns, and I know what it’s like to be 13, said Burns. “You’re in high school and there are people with fully automatic Glocks in the bathroom showing it off. I know what it’s like to be around it. It’s fun until somebody you know dies.”
Burns added, “I think people need to be more self-aware of the inflictions that happen and the domino effect that it leads to. When one person dies, it always leads to somebody else dying and it’s a never-ending cycle.”
