People who do not live in Chicago have a lot to say about gun violence in Chicago. Some comments ring hollow, feel deeply disingenuous and are devoid of true care and concern for the holistic well-being of Black residents in this city. Take, for example, Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who during a November Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence asked Dr. Megan Ranney of the Yale School of Public Health: Why has Chicago “become America’s largest outdoor shooting range?” Several other political leaders, cable news hosts and U.S. presidential hopefuls have made similar statements when describing violence in Chicago in public forums or settings.
What these commenters fail to realize is that gun violence in Chicago is not just an issue of homicide but also an urgent concern for matters of suicide prevention. I say this in response to a new study that my colleague and I recently published in the American Journal of Public Health in which we found that Black Americans were the only group to experience a significant increase in suicides among both males and females in Chicago from 2015 to 2021. Further, suicide rates for Black men in Chicago increased from 7.7 per 100,000 in 2015 to 14.1 in 2021. Results from our study also indicate that 55% of Black men who died by suicide in Chicago did so using a firearm. This percentage was higher than that of every other race and sex group affected by suicide in the city, as other populations more commonly turned to hanging or overdose instead.
It is imperative for researchers and clinicians to understand not just the rate at which individuals are dying by suicide, but also the method people are using to end their lives. Learning more about the mechanisms different groups use when planning a suicide offers mental health professionals much needed insight when working to develop prevention programs and interventions.
Still, it seems that national news outlets continue to amplify homicide rates in Chicago without carefully considering the ways that gun violence also negatively affects experiences of mental health felt within Black communities across the city. In 2022, ABC News reported on gun violence in Chicago. Information describing the increase in suicides among Black Chicagoans, however, was not mentioned.
Rather, local journalists have led the charge in raising awareness about the rise of suicides in Cook County. The diligent reporting on the alarming rise in Black suicides by Lakeidra Chavis for Injustice Watch has been instrumental in my own understanding of this topic. In my view, support is needed at both the local and national levels in order to prevent more Black suicides from occurring.
Moreover, instead of taking to heart the words of those who have no vested commitment to the flourishing and well-being of Black Chicagoans, I turn to insights offered by Richard Wright, who penned these powerful words in the 1940 classic “Native Son.” Set in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, Wright opens the novel by describing the plight of protagonist Bigger Thomas following an argument between Bigger and his mother as she decries his shortcomings surrounding issues of financial stress, family responsibility and masculinity.
Wright, in reference to Thomas, goes on to say: “He knew that the moment he allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness, he would either kill himself or someone else. So he denied himself and acted tough.”
In Chicago in particular, we are witnessing a new generation of Black men who are grappling with some of the same issues faced by Bigger Thomas, but who now have easier access to firearms. This is just one of many places in which I believe that policymakers are uniquely positioned to intervene in restricting access to firearms in Chicago and across the nation.
Instead of using gun violence among Black men in Chicago in an attempt to score political wins during Senate hearings and presidential debates, I ask that policymakers and elected officials commit to creating pathways to accessible mental health treatment for those in need. In our peer-reviewed study, we discuss updating eligibility for the Illinois firearm owner’s identification card, along with the Protect Illinois Communities Act that went into effect in 2023.
A consistent approach to restricting firearms, however, is yet to be implemented at the federal level. Additionally, I ask that policymakers invest in establishing public mental health centers that offer treatment to all residents, irrespective of their insurance coverage or ability to pay. Six mental health centers were closed in Chicago after a 2012 decision to redress the city’s deficit included the closure of these city-run facilities. Several closures occurred in Black and Latino neighborhoods on the West and South sides. The reopening of public mental health clinics, coupled with the development of new mental health centers, could help mitigate risk for suicide among Chicago’s most underserved and vulnerable populations. Let this be a lesson for what other states and cities should consider before choosing to eliminate potentially lifesaving mental health resources within marginalized communities.
Overall, the findings presented in our study complicate our understanding and perceptions of gun violence in Chicago — particularly among Black men — by demonstrating that Black men in this city are using guns to end their lives by suicide too. Suicide, therefore, persists as an understudied and overlooked form of gun violence in Chicago and does not get the local and national attention that it deserves.
Existing violence prevention programs should be expanded to prioritize suicide prevention alongside homicide reduction, as both forms of violence are disproportionately contributing to the loss of Black lives in Chicago today.
Janelle Goodwill is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago who leads research projects that focus on issues of mental health promotion, suicide prevention and racial disparities in Chicago.
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