Jewish Community Center to host gun violence workshop

Community leaders will hold a workshop on the impact of gun violence on the African American community on Monday.

The event will take place at the Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Avenue, in Squirrel Hill from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

“We want to try and grab people’s attention to think more carefully about what is happening and how we can prevent future homicide,” said Diane Powell of Black Women for Positive Change which is sponsoring the workshop.

Powell said African-Americans are particularly impacted by gun violence.

She cited statistics from Everytown for Gun Safety showing black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide and that black women are twice as likely to be fatally shot by an intimate partner compared to white women.

Panelists for the event include Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor, Rob Conroy of Cease Fire PA, Micki McDonough of Moms Demand Action Pittsburgh, and Rich Garland of the University of Pittsburgh. The event will be moderated by veteran broadcast journalist Elaine Effort.