Report: Black Iowa women are being killed by gun violence at higher rates

More than six times the number of Black women were killed in Iowa in 2020 than in 2019, according to a new investigation by The Guardian.

Why it matters: The U.S. experienced an unprecedented rise in homicides in 2020 and 2021, but the violent racial disparity stands out in our majority white, rural state.

• The majority of the homicides of Black women involve someone they knew, including a partner, family member or friend, according to the Violence Policy Center.

By the numbers: Black Iowans made up half of the state's 106 homicide victims in 2020, despite representing just 5% of the population.

• The majority of these homicides involved someone they knew, according to the Violence Policy Center.
• All but one of the 13 Black women killed that year died from a gunshot wound.

State of play: Families and advocates from around the state blame the rise in homicides on how easy it is to illegally acquire a gun, as well as inadequate support for local social services.

• They also point to Iowa's disproportionately high incarceration rates for Black men, which can later result in generational barriers such as housing and employment access, according to a 2021 IPR report.

What they're saying: All of the systemic inequities Black Americans have faced came to a head in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing struggles, Luana Nelson-Brown, head of the Iowa Coalition for Collective Change, told The Guardian.

• "I think we're seeing the result of a pandemic of racism and sexism combine with COVID to create something new," Nelson-Brown said.

What's next: Des Moines has funded $745K in a violence reduction program run by Creative Visions. But the program's ambiguous benchmarks have made it unclear if it's helping.

• Polk County is also undergoing a public health campaign on gun safety following an increase in youth shootings deaths, including at "Starts Right Here" in downtown Des Moines.

Worthy of your time: "What a surge in murders means for Black women in Iowa" by Abené Clayton.