Each new gun injury and death makes the point all the more painfully clear: You canât forge a path to upward economic mobility if you donât feel safe in your home.
As the associate director of Winston-Salem State Universityâs Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM), leading community engagement for the center, I am reminded of this every time I hear or read about the shootings and gun violence that occur almost daily. CSEMâs staff and fellows are producing research that identifies barriers and practices that can move solutions on upward economic mobility. This research, on issues ranging from homeownership to education, can never escape the shadow that is cast by the barrier of gun violence, especially for neighborhoods around our campus in East Winston.
Teâore Terry comes to his mother in dreams.
Three months after he was fatally shot in Winston-Salem, on Valentineâs Day, Teâore comes to Velma Terry. âHis spirit is strong and I believe it is strong because his murder is not solved,â she said last week. âHeâs comforting his mother, letting me know heâs got me.â
Terry also draws strength from a group she helped start for Black mothers facing challenges, never realizing she would personally face one of the worst of those challenges: losing a child to gun violence. âTheyâve just been giving back what I gave to them, so it was kind of like the roles have reversed,â Terry said.