When 100-plus students from 23 Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools at a forum Tuesday on gun violence were asked to stand up if they or someone they know had been affected by gun violence, few were left sitting.
The students came to East Professional Center for the forum where they learned more about the issue and worked together to come up with potential solutions to the problem. They started the day by hearing from a local panel of experts and some local residents whose lives had been impacted by gun violence.
That included former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Clifford Pinkney; Yvonka Hall, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition; Sharena Zayed, a newly appointed member of the Cleveland Community Police Commission; Dr. Tom Tallman, a longtime emergency care physician and medical director of the Cuyahoga County jail; and Makayla Barlow, a Campus International High School graduate who was shot in the head while driving last year in East Cleveland.
Barlow told students she’s had three brain surgeries since being shot and has lifelong issues she’ll have to contend with, including seizures.
“The most recent episode of seizures that I have had was two weeks ago,” she said. “I also have a major anxiety disorder. I experience depressive symptoms and a difference in cognitive ability… But I’m happy to be here because I went to Campus and I live in Cleveland and I want to make a change.”
Zayed said her 15-year-old son, Amir, was shot and killed in 2020 in Cleveland. She told students that they have the power to make change in their community, citing Issue 24, a voter-backed initiative that created the Community Police Commission she now sits on.
“Had it not been for Issue 24, many people would not think that I would be qualified because I don’t have a fancy piece of paper on the wall,” she said. “But I have lived life experience that qualifies me to make decisions, and I have lived life experience that… allows me to give insight on what the average citizen in Cleveland goes through.”
Pinkney and Tallman both testified to the impact gun violence can have on families lives, Pinkney from his perspective in law enforcement and Tallman from working in emergency rooms for years. And Hall spoke about losing her best friend Tracy, shot and killed by her abusive husband.
“Young people with so much promise for a future who are gone,” she said. “She can’t come back. Left a two-year-old child here in this world to be raised by other folks.”
After asking some questions of the panelists, the students then took to work sessions to brainstorm ideas on how to address the problem of gun violence. Ideastream Public Media sat down with one group of students from James Ford Rhodes High School to listen in. Antwon (Ideastream is only using students’ first names to allow them to speak freely) said he thinks students need better role models.
"We get that image from rappers who talk about shooting other people who shot their people," Antwon said. "So I just feel like it's an influence thing."
Da’yona said it’s not just about the influence of pop culture and the people around you, though; she said young people also need help managing their emotions and dealing with mental health problems.
Some of the students did not believe that access to guns was the issue, although student Daneyshka disagreed.
“I feel like people are voting for a lot of politicians that are really for guns and want to own as many guns as they want, and they're not really thinking about what that can mean if it gets to the wrong hands.”
As discussion wrapped up, students’ ideas on the root causes of gun violence were tabulated, with many students identifying mental health issues, easy access to guns, gangs and “hate” as the main contributing factors.
The ideas the students come up will create an action plan that will be shared with the school district in the coming weeks.
The event was created by the organizers of the Civics 2.0 initiative at CMSD, which is a civic-engagement program meant to help students learn more about the Democratic process and become more socially and civically engaged.
Earlier in the day, students also heard a poem called "24 Bullets" — about the aftermath of gun violence — written by Unsilenced Voices of CMSD student blogger Kayden Ferris, and an introductory speech by fellow student blogger Chardon Black.
Prior to joining Ideastream Public Media, Conor Morris was paid through the Civics 2.0 program to run the Unsilenced Voices of CMSD blog during summer 2022. He now volunteers to run the blog and is not paid for that work.
