Examining the Impact of Homicide Violence and Victimization Among African Americans

This roundtable session will engage in dialogue about homicide violence and victimization in the African American community and its impact on survivors of homicide victims. Although they comprise of approximately 13.5% or 42 million of the total U.S. population, African Americans suffer disproportionately from homicide violence accounting for 48% of all homicide victims annually. The unadjusted rate of homicide is highest for African Americans, at over three times that of Hispanics and American Indian/Alaskan Natives, and over eight times that of White Americans and of Asians/Pacific Islanders. Homicide has an immense impact on the lives of surviving friends and family members of homicide victims. Research suggests that for every one death, 7-10 family members and friends are left behind learning how to survive the homicide of their loved one. Based on this estimate, every day, approximately 153,000 African Americans must face the daunting challenge of surviving the homicide of their loved ones and are at risk for experiencing complicated grief, poor mental and physical health outcomes. The scarcity of research relevant to African American survivors of homicide victims leaves policy makers and social work practitioners with little evidence to develop culturally responsive, evidenced-based interventions to support this underserved, yet overrepresented, population. Unaddressed, these experiences of trauma, loss, and grief can exacerbate inequities among marginalized populations of color, thereby increasing their levels of vulnerability. Presenters from the Homicide Research Consortium (HRC), a group of scholars focused on raising the standard of research and best practice for survivors of homicide victims and violent injury, will discuss innovative research examining homicide violence due to police brutality, interpersonal conflict and coping with the impact of traumatic loss and grief following homicide death. The goal of the HRC is to stimulate conversation that will promote understanding of the disproportionate causes and consequences of homicide violence in communities of color and share contributions relevant to the development of research and culturally responsive practice for African American survivors of homicide victims. HRC roundtable participants from four different institutions will discuss their efforts to produce research that informs and influences culturally responsive practice for survivors of homicide victims. The first presenter will discuss the psychosocial impacts of life course exposures to trauma and loss in the context of peer and police encounters. These finding are grounded in the narratives of young African American men (18-24) coming of age in the City of Baltimore. The second presenter will share findings relevant to the killing of unarmed African American men by police and the impact on the African American community. The third presenter will discuss the importance of spirituality in homicidal bereavement and will share research findings that highlight spirituality as a potential coping resource among African American survivors. The final presenter will offer a model that speaks to the sociocultural context of coping with the homicide of a loved one for African American survivors of homicide victims and offer suggestions for the development of culturally responsive interventions that social workers can apply in their work with this vulnerable population.