'We have failed to protect our Black and Brown youth—and this is a public health crisis.' | Terrance Weeden
Police tape litters the ground at the scene of a February 2017 shooting in Chicago, streamed live on Facebook, that killed a toddler and a man authorities say was the intended target.As a Black male pediatrician in Chicago, I am deeply concerned about the ongoing effects that community and state-sanctioned gun violence have on Black and Brown youth and their families. We, as a society, continue to devalue the lives of Black and Brown youth.
Black adolescents are less likely to receive mental health care than white teens due to the many barriers to treatment, which include stigma around mental health, lack of access to and representation in health care, and mistrust of health-care providers. As a Black pediatrician in Chicago, when I watch the local news, I can’t help but wonder if one of my patients has been a victim of gun violence, whether state-sanctioned or within the community. How many more mothers and fathers must mourn the untimely loss of their child? I often think about the mental health of the parents and siblings deeply affected by these tragedies. Parents should not experience the heartbreak of losing their child. I think of the grief of the victims’ siblings.
We cannot place the blame for gun violence on a lack of parental involvement. It is instead the result of generations of structural racism that have created disproportionate rates of incarceration and deportation and worsening wealth disparities that prevent poor Black and Brown parents from being as present in their children’s lives as they might otherwise be.
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