Photo Credit: Quinn Clark
Gigi Y Boone-Frazier, who lost her daughter to gun violence in 2007, sings “Where Peaceful Waters Flow” by Gladys Knight. Boone-Frazier says music helped her through her experiences with domestic violence and gun violence.
On Dec. 26, 2016, Shannon Allen spoke to her son at 1:25 p.m. At 1:44 p.m., he was pronounced dead. “My son was laughing, he was humorous, being a jokester that he always was every day of my life that I spent with him, the 27 years he was here on earth,” Allen said.
Allen’s son, DeAndre Allen, was shot and killed in Milwaukee. She still has not received justice for her son’s death, but she says that his murderer will be brought to justice either way. “God said, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ so with that alone, I know that justice will prevail,” she said.
Faith brought survivors of gun violence together on Feb. 1 at an event called “Put’Em Down Milwaukee” at the King Solomon Missionary Baptist Church. Survivors shared their stories to raise gun violence awareness in the presence of Acting Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, County Executive David Crowley and community organizers from various organizations. Feb. 1 marks the first day of National Gun Violence Survivor’s Week.
Crowley said gun violence must be recognized as a public health crisis. “Last year, we saw a record number of gun violence in our region,” Crowley said. “Amplified by the challenges of this pandemic, these trends are happening not only here but across major cities in this country. Incidents of domestic violence, gun suicide and unintentional gun violence have also risen significantly, and firearms are now the leading cause of death for American children and teens.”
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Photo Credit: Quinn Clark
Shannon Allen shares her story of losing her son, DeAndre Allen, to gun violence.
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Photo Credit: Quinn Clark
County Executive David Crowley acknowledges how the pandemic has worsened gun violence in Milwaukee and across the country.
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Photo Credit: Quinn Clark
Acting Chief Jeffrey Norman hopes to work with community organizers as he realizes the Milwaukee Police Department cannot end gun violence alone.
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Photo Credit: Quinn Clark
Bernice Parks tearfully remembers her 13-year-old daughter, Sandra Parks, who was shot and killed in 2018.
Community Must Help
Norman acknowledged that the Milwaukee Police Department cannot work alone to combat gun violence, and expressed a desire to work with community organizations. “The Milwaukee Police Department needs to understand that we are partners in a fight in regards to gun violence in our community,” Norman said. “We're in this together.”
The group came together in song and prayer throughout the night, supporting one another through tears and heartbreak, while also looking forward with hope for the future. Bernice Parks, mother of Sandra Parks, a 13-year-old girl shot and killed by a stray bullet in her Milwaukee home, was among those who shared their stories. “My baby was loved, and that’s all I could have asked for the community to do,” Parks said tearfully. “And everybody loved her wherever she went, and whoever she looked at, my baby had a smile on her face.”
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Parks says she’s afraid to leave her home, and fears for the lives of her other children, ever since the loss of her daughter. “What is wrong with this world?” she pleaded. “We’re better than this. It’s gotta stop.”
Pastor Veloris Brooks is the director of the Emergency Response Chaplaincy Program headed by the Salvation Army. The Milwaukee Police Department contacts the program to support families in need of spiritual support. The most calls the program receives are from families that have lost loved ones to homicides. “The cries of the mothers ring in my ears constantly because it is a sound that you can never get out of your head,” Brooks said. “You’re trying to get them to breathe, and I know at that moment they’re thinking about when their child took their last breath.”
Brooks called for people to get more involved in young peoples’ lives; get to know their interests, and be open to conversations surrounding their mental health. “Don’t pray unless you’re gonna be the answer,” she said.
If you are interested in organizations combatting gun violence, you can look into the Donovan Hines Foundation of Exuberance, 414Life, and the Milwaukee Coalition Against Hate.
