60% of firearm homicides each year involve black Americans

It has been revealed that black Americans account for 60 percent of all firearm homicides, which is vastly disproportionate considering the group makes up only 14 percent of the US population.

The data comes from a recent study conducted by The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The organization analyzed firearm deaths documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 2017 and 2021.

The firearm death homicide rate among black people in all age groups had an average of 21.05 per 100,000, while non-Hispanic white people had a rate of 1.93 per 100,000, according to the study.

In the 18-24 age bracket, black people had a firearm death rate of 58.78 per 100,000, compared to 3.1 per 100,000 for white people in the same age bracket, which is where the biggest difference was found.

Gun violence rose to the top cause of mortality for all children in 2020, while the Brady research shows that it has been the top cause of death for black children since 2006. The rate of firearm suicide among black individuals is also on the increase, rising by 50.8 percent in the last five years, according to the research.

Kelly Sampson, senior counsel and director of racial justice at the Brady Center, told the Grio: "Gun violence has been a top concern for a long time in the Black community."
 

"For people who care about the Black community, you can’t get away from these numbers. People will look at these numbers and blame the victim but we know that gun violence is preventable. It is not inevitable," said Sampson.