By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
In response to the persistent crisis of gun violence in communities of color, Seattle Cares Mentoring Movement and 4C Coalition held a community dialogue event Monday evening at the Northwest African American Museum. Titled Voices for Change: A Future Without Gun Violence, the gathering brought together community members, leaders, and young people to discuss solutions and share personal experiences related to gun violence and its toll on youth.
Coordinated by Don and Hazel Cameron, the evening centered on fostering honest dialogue about how gun violence continues to devastate communities—and how collective action might lead to change.
“The purpose of this event—this is a topic that has touched so many people in our community. I think it is hard to find people that haven’t been touched by gun violence, then to find those who have been touched by gun violence,” says Don Cameron, Executive Director of Seattle Cares Mentoring Movement. “We just think it is time to have a serious dialogue, and we hope that this is the beginning and not the end.”
Hazel Cameron, Executive Director of the 4C Coalition, echoed that urgency.
“My family was shot multiple times in Washington, D.C., and we’re seeing it across the board here in Seattle with our young people,” she said. “We may not have all the solutions, but we are going to hear from the community. It’s going to be a long road to travel, but we hope to come up with solutions over time.”
Participants listened to panelists who shared deeply personal accounts of how gun violence shaped their lives. Afterward, attendees broke into small groups to discuss solutions, focusing on how to protect and uplift the community’s youth.
“It is really a dialogue—what is going on, what can we do,” Hazel Cameron continued. “We may not have all the solutions, but we are going to hear from the community. How can we begin to address this issue? It is going to be a long road to travel, but we are hoping to come up with some solutions over time.”
Data shared at the event underscored the urgency. According to Seattle Cares Mentoring Movement, guns are now the leading cause of death for Black children—not just in the Pacific Northwest, but nationwide. In 2024, Seattle experienced 31 fatal shootings, three of which occurred in the Central District.
King County’s first-quarter gun violence report showed that of the 60 shooting victims, precisely half were identified as Black or African American. Eighty-seven percent were male. The most affected age group was 18–24, representing 28% of victims, followed by those aged 30–39 at 22%. Although there was a 41% decrease in overall shootings compared to the first quarter of 2024, Black males remained disproportionately impacted.
According to experts, more than 1 billion firearms are in global circulation. Most of those guns belong to private individuals, while the rest belong to the military and law enforcement agencies. Gun violence is a serious issue in many places. In the United States, guns recently outpaced car accidents as the leading cause of death for children. Here are just some of the causes that afflict communities with one of the nation’s leading causes of death in children and young people: poverty, income inequality, poor education, housing instability, lack of good employment, lack of affordable healthcare, mental illness, weak gun control laws and gun availability, and exposure to violence.
Joseph Williams, a young Black man who graced the panel, touched on some of the same reasons and challenges he believes are behind the growing violence in young America.
“Economics, stopping the violence—poverty is the answer behind a lot of this,” says Williams. “I think guidance or the lack of [it]. I think youth need guidance, better role models to show them what is right and help them make better choices.”
Alexzander Daniels, another one of the panelists who spoke at the event, shared personal experiences as to why he attended and chose to be a participant on the panel.
“Today I am here speaking on a panel for the prevention of gun violence at the Northwest African American Museum. What made me choose this route was, basically, me growing up in the city of Seattle and seeing what I’ve seen,” says Daniels. “I will say I have experienced a lot. I’ve had my stepfather, who was murdered at the hands of another man via gun violence, and two of my uncles are currently locked up in prison right now. I just want to show people that you can always go back to the same places, but you don’t have to put yourself in the same situations or do the same things.”
“You can always change the narrative, and it starts with you to change the narrative,” continued Daniels. “Most people may know what is written about you, but they don’t know who you are personally. It is time for us as a community to show people that we are here to stay and we are here to do positive things—and that’s what we are here to do tonight.”
Williams expressed just how important it is that the community help and aid young Black people by bettering the environment in which they were raised.
“So, I think it’s important to help us as young Black people and just help youth in general make a better environment for everybody—that’s why I’m here,” says Williams. “I am here because I want to make a difference in my community. I think the youth, just us as young people, are really important because we are the future. So, I think having a good environment for us and just being able to preserve the positive things about Seattle would be great for people that are coming up.”
