By Scott Blair
Black parents are fearing for their children’s safety.
A recent Pew Research study found that 29% of Black parents rated their neighborhood as only fair/poor regarding quality and safety. This is due to increased school shootings, bullying and mental illness. Poverty rates and housing inequities also contributed. The 3,700 respondents to the survey stated their top concerns for their children were anxiety and depression, and getting shot, along with being bullied.
Tara Brown has a 15-year-old daughter who attends a school in Washington, D.C.’s 8th ward. There is no bus to take her to school, and Ms. Brown has good reason to be concerned about her child’s (Jayna) safety and well-being getting to and from school.
Jayna takes the Metro Bus and a month into the school year, a man started stalking her. He followed Jayna for months which prompted Brown to order an Uber to take Jayna to school; however, the cost of that became too much, and Jayna was back taking the bus.
Black parents are fearing for their children’s safety.
A recent Pew Research study found that 29% of Black parents rated their neighborhood as only fair/poor regarding quality and safety. This is due to increased school shootings, bullying and mental illness. Poverty rates and housing inequalities also contributed. The 3,700 respondents to the survey stated their top concerns for their children were anxiety and depression, and getting shot, along with being bullied.
Tara Brown has a 15-year-old daughter who attends a school in Washington, D.C.’s 8th ward. There is no bus to take her to school, and Brown has good reason to be concerned about her child’s (Jayna) safety and well-being getting to and from school.
Jayna takes the Metro Bus and a month into the school year, a man began stalking her. He followed Jayna for months which prompted Brown to order an Uber to take Jayna to school. However, the cost of that became too much, and Jayna was back taking the bus.
Brown said, “My daughter has social anxiety. In this case, she was terrified. The sexual predators didn’t even occur to me. I was more concerned about gun violence and bullies. So, this was just another layer of terror that I deal with every day when she walks out of the house.” It even reached the point where Ms. Brown had a police escort take Jayna to school.
She says, “I want someone to look out for my child and every child. Sexual predators and human trafficking, those things still happen,” she says. “And they tend to happen a lot more often to Black kids because the expectation is that no one’s going to look for them as hard.”
Parents in Texas Face Daunting Question: Is any schoolchild safe?
We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, where a gunman killed 19 students and two adults. On the heels of a mass shooting at an outdoor mall in Allen, TX, where eight people were killed, parents are up in arms about their children’s safety.
Geoffrey Keaton, who was eating at a restaurant in the mall with his daughter when the shooting happened, told CNN, “It was traumatic. “It was fast. It was definitely not anything that you expect or [are] prepared for because who prepares for a thing like that? You don’t expect to go to the mall and lose your life.”
Parents of students have to decide whether or not to allow their children to attend school, or hang out at the local mall in Texas and around the country.
The shootings in Texas spread fear to other parts of the country. Brittney Lee Fox, from Ogden, UT, withdrew her sons, Dominic, 10, and Jayden, 8, from school the day after the Uvalde shooting to start homeschooling them. Fox said, “They [her sons] feel helpless. They feel so confused, and no matter how we explain it to any child, they’re not going to understand it, because we don’t even as adults.”
Senator Cruz Faces Backlash
Texas Senator Ted Cruz faced backlash after commenting that he was “praying” for families of the Allen Premium Outlets mall shooting victims. Cruz said via Twitter, “Heidi [his wife]and I are praying for the families of the victims of the horrific mall shooting in Allen, Texas. We pray also for the broader Collin county community that’s in shock from this tragedy.”
The founder of gun safety group Moms Demand Action, Shannon Watts, responded, “YOU helped arm him with guns, ammo and tactical gear. He did exactly what you knew he’d do. Spare us your prayers and talk of justice for a gunman who is … dead. The only accountability we can hope for is that gun extremists like you are thrown into the ash heap of history.”
According to Axios, Cruz has received more than $442,000 from organizations that support keeping guns as accessible as possible.
After a mass shooting in 2019 in El Paso, Cruz Tweeted, “Heidi & I are praying for everyone in El Paso. As events continue to unfold, please heed any warnings from local authorities and law enforcement and stay safe.”
Texas residents feel that he’s used language referring to thoughts and prayers rather than gun restrictions in reaction to previous mass shootings. And they’re sick and tired of it.
