October 18th 2023.
Black women in Chicago make up only 16% of the city's population yet account for 25% of crime victims. A few brave victims have started to speak out on a long-standing problem that the city has been overlooking for far too long. Statistics show that Black women are disproportionately targeted by violent crimes and have been for decades, CBS News reports. An alarming 67,094 out of 269,423 crimes reported in Chicago in 2022 had Black women as the victims.
Sierra Jamison, 29, was one of the 2022 victims. She was forced to fight off a man who tried to steal her 2018 Jeep Wrangler. Sierra, a single mother of a 6-year-old son with autism, recalled the traumatic encounter. She had been confronted at knifepoint by a man while getting gas for her car. Jamison remembered how he demanded her keys, but she was able to observe his actions and realised he was too nervous to carry out the attack. Fortunately, she had two other women present who aided her, with one pulling out a bat she had in the trunk of her car.
Other eyewitnesses recalled the attacker camping out at the gas station for hours to find a victim. Jamison believes she was the intended target, being a young black woman. She said, "I guess he was feeling like I was gonna be vulnerable, be like get the key. But he got the wrong female."
Alas, one month after she shared her survival stories, Jamison was found murdered in her garage next to her Jeep Wrangler in September 2023.
Laura Irvine was riding the CTA Red Line train home with her daughter in August 2022 when she was attacked by a mob of robbers. She was punched in the face and feared she might die during the attack. Irvine said she does not feel safe on the train anymore.
Niya Williams recounted being shot in the face by a man while inside her car after being verbally attacked by a group of men inside a Bronzeville restaurant. She said it was the biggest burn she ever felt and that her teeth were blown out. Williams, like many other Black women in Chicago, lives in a constant fear for her life. She said, "I'm a lot traumatized now, because when night falls, it gets scary just out here in the world. Getting out to your car. Walking your dog."
These stories are an unfortunate reminder that Black women in Chicago continue to be disproportionately targeted by violent crimes. It is clear that the city needs to do more to address this long-standing issue that has been overlooked for far too long.
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