LA shooting deaths of two women and girl highlight 'invisibility of Black life'

[Jilly_in_VA]

Three recent killings in the Los Angeles area have put the spotlight on the disparate impact of American gun violence on Black women and the lack of attention their stories receive, as the country reckons with some of the most intense spates of gun violence in years.

Both killings took place on weekends, a mere two weeks apart. On 8 January, California officials found the body of Tioni Theus, a 16-year-old girl who was found shot at a busy onramp of the 110 freeway. On 23 January, sisters Breahna Stines and Marneysha Hamilton were among four people shot dead during a mass shooting at a birthday party in Inglewood.

Neither incident received much coverage outside of local news, raising questions about which stories are elevated in the national spotlight and which mass shootings grasp the country’s attention. While discrepancies between the attention for white victims of violence and Black victims of violence is nothing new, community organizers and researchers worry about the message this phenomenon continues to send to young Black girls about their worth and potential.

“This image of a young Black girl on the side of a highway with cars driving by speaks to the invisibility of Black life,” said Nikki Jones, a professor of African American studies at UC Berkeley. “Black girls are contending with the messages that their life is disposable, and that’s an extremely dangerous message.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/27/los-angeles-killings-black-women-violence

[sarisataka]

1. Well illustrated

By this thread

[TheProle]

2. It's the Chicago Paradox

Because the right wing so readily goes to black on black violence and uses the abysmal statistics from cities like Chicago, our side often deflects, diminishes or abstains from honest discussion of violence against marginalized people.