In 2020, homicides in the Bay Area increased by about 25%, according to a Guardian analysis of census and state data. Many of those deaths involved guns. The majority of people killed were Black and Latino, and some of the largest increases took place in Oakland, Vallejo, and Stockton.
We don't yet know all of the reasons why this increase occurred, but many local practitioners of gun violence prevention point to factors like economic hardship, and the closures of important community spaces during the pandemic.
Guest: Abené Clayton, lead reporter of The Guardian’s ‘Guns & Lies in America’ series
Read Abené's full piece in The Guardian
This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Kate Wolffe, and hosted by Alan Montecillo.