The Epidemic of Black Homicide Victimization
The devastation homicide inflicts on Black teens and adults in our nation is an ongoing crisis, yet it is all too often ignored outside of impacted communities.
This study examines Black homicide victimization in the United States by analyzing two data sources: 2023 WISQARS mortality data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and crime data submitted by states to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Prior editions of this report used exclusively FBI crime data. However, in January of 2021 the FBI changed the way crime data are collected — which negatively impacted the reliability of data submitted by some states. As a result, in this study (as in the prior edition which analyzed 2022 data) the more comprehensive and reliable CDC data is used to present information on victim mortality on the national and state levels, rank the 10 states with the highest victimization rates, and detail firearm and other weapon use. FBI crime data is utilized to describe the victim and offender relationship as well as homicide circumstances (information not available in WISQARS) on the national level and for the 10 states with the highest victimization rates. FBI crime data reporting varies by state, so while this report publishes the information that is available, the data may not be entirely representative of crime patterns in a given state.
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