Crime

Wisconsin Ranked Second in Nation for Black Homicide Rate

MILWAUKEE COURIER — Wisconsin has been called many things, including the state of one of the most segregated cities in the nation. Earlier this week, Wisconsin was ranked second in the nation for the number of black homicide victims.

Published

6 years ago

June 10, 2019

Oakland Post

By Ana Martinez-Ortiz

Wisconsin has been called many things, including the state of one of the most segregated cities in the nation. Earlier this week, Wisconsin was ranked second in the nation for the number of black homicide victims.

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) conducts an annual study: The Black Homicide Victimization in the United States. This year’s study, An Analysis of 2016 Homicide Data examined unpublished data from the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Report.

While the study has been going on for 13 years, this is the sixth year in row that Wisconsin has ranked among the 10 states with the highest black victimization rates, according to the press release.

Wisconsin’s homicide rate is 37.57 per 100,000, which almost twice the national rate. Missouri, which was ranked number one had a homicide rate of 46.21 per 100,000. Following Wisconsin, the remaining states included West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

Josh Sugarmann, the VPC executive director, said this study and victim’s families should provoke an outcry for change. He added that the goal of the report is to educate the public and policymakers in the hopes that it’ll make a change and put an end to this ongoing crisis.

In 2016 in Wisconsin, 144 black persons were victims of a homicide, 124 were male and 20 were female. The average age was 31-years-old, but 6 percent of victims were under 18 and two percent were 65 and older.

The report also found that 91 percent of the victims were killed by guns and of that, 75 percent were killed by handguns.

“In all parts of our country, people of color are disproportionately affected by gun violence,” said Jeri Bonavia, executive director of WAVE Educational Fund. “But this study highlights just how much work Wisconsin needs to do and just how essential it is that we do that work immediately.”

In the entirety of the United States, the study reported that 7,765 black people were homicide victims. Black people make up 13 percent of the population but accounted for 51 percent of the deaths.

The homicide victimization rate for black is 20.44 per 100,000 compared to the 2.96 homicide victimization rate for whites. Furthermore, the press release stated “Nationwide, 87 percent of black homicide victims were killed with guns.”

“The devastating and disproportionate impact homicide, almost always involving a gun, has on black men, boys, women, and girls in America is a national shame,” said Sugarmann.

This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Courier.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

New Maryland City Councilman Stopped in “Driving While Black” Incident

Don't Miss

African-American Couple Found Dead in Dominican Republic Hotel

Oakland Post

2 Comments

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.