ATLANTA — Sharmaine Brown lost her son Jared to gun violence eight years ago, but she has since dedicated her life to preventing other lives from being taken. She started Jared’s Heart of Success to teach young people the art of conflict resolution.
“My son’s death was so senseless, all because of a conflict that could’ve ended with a simple conversation,” Brown said. “I just could no longer sit on the sidelines and see and hear about it. I wanted to be out here doing something in the community to support our youth.”
On Friday, a room inside the organization Hosea Helps was packed with people praying for victims of gun violence. Local law enforcement, city leaders and pastors hope their words can spark change.
“No single entity has the solution. This is a partnership, and unless we do it together, we’re not going to win,” said Curtis West, pastor of Butler Street CME Church. “When we communicate and we identify each other in a loving, compassionate way, I believe that opens the door to understanding each other.”
They offered prayers for local churches, the City of Atlanta, the community, families, civic leaders, the nation and the world. Afemo Omilami, chief operating officer of Hosea Helps, is inspired by civil rights leaders throughout history. His wife is Elisabeth Omilami, CEO of Hosea Helps and daughter of civil rights leader Rev. Hosea Williams.
“The church was there for Dr. King and this group here, and surely they’re there for us here today too with our kids getting killed, people getting hurt,” Afemo Omilami said. “We stand on their shoulders, and we owe these great leaders the best we can give for our generation. To do less is an insult. To do less is to dishonor what they gave everything for.”
The Pew Research Center recently released data showing nearly 900 children and teens were shot and killed nationwide between 2019-2021, an increase of nearly 50 percent in just two years. Data also showed that in 2021, 60 percent of gun-related deaths for kids were attributed to homicides, while 32 percent were attributed to suicides.
Pew research also showed in 2021, Black kids were five times more likely to die from gunfire than White and Hispanic kids. The data stated that nearly half of the parents surveyed by Pew in 2022 said they were somewhat or very concerned about their kids being shot.
Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Lewis knows what kind of impact gun violence can have. He lost his mother when he was just two years old. He said his mother was murdered as part of the Atlanta-Miami drug war during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since being elected, Lewis said he has taken inspiration from former mayors and city leaders to meet kids where they are and bring job fairs to schools and throughout the community.
Lewis said as a result, murder in his district, centered in southwest Atlanta, was down 67 percent and rape was down 100 percent in the same area. He told 11Alive that stopping gun violence started with communication and building up the “beloved community,” often spoken about by Atlanta native and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“My job is to be a voice for the people that have had no voice,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to get the hands back involved. The hands that were involved when we built the beloved community are back involved, and I’m excited to be involved. This is politics, this is God, this is kids. This is the meeting before the meeting. This is us getting together, strategizing to see how we organize so we can mobilize.”
Captain Aprille Moore, a deputy with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, said as a mother of two, she feels the impact of the several calls law enforcement responds to when it comes to kids and gunfire.
“It definitely hits very hard. Those grassroot efforts to really connect to community are important,” Moore said. “I understand how that impacts parents on the daily and try to wrap my arms around the community as much as I wrap them around my children."
Moore added the sheriff's office wants to encourage young people and others to think before using a gun.
“You’re not just impacting the person you just harmed. You’re impacting their family, and that could be generations to come," she said. "We’re just really encouraging folks to put down guns and to have conversations that will change the narrative around that.”
For Brown, solutions are a work in progress, but she said she would not grow weary of doing that work.
“Gun violence has taken a toll. It is literally now, more so than ever, needed. The work is needed to continue to support our youth,” Brown said.