Can a historic Black town in California be revitalized?
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Can a historic Black town be revitalized?
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High rates of crime, shootings and homicides have plagued parts of Bakersfield for years, but the pandemic has had an effect similar to dousing a fire with gasoline.
The sharp rise in recent violence has galvanized community members who say it must end as they search for ways to pull their neighborhoods out of an intractable spiral.
“It’s been enough,” said Xenia King, who grew up in southeast Bakersfield and started a group called Mothers Against Gang Violence last year.
Bakersfield Police reported a record number of homicides in 2020 45 dead in 43 separate incidents and seven in 10 happened in neighborhoods east of Highway 99, according to a detailed list the agency provided. So far in 2021, eight of the nine homicides the department is investigating all of them shootings also happened in that area.