G
U
N
CRY
MADE By Chelsey Sincerray
Why have we become immune to hearing
and reading about mass killings, gun
shootings and violence as a whole within our
communities? There should be a breaking
point of being tired and fed up to being
surrounded with constant negativity in
the media. Rather than changing the topic,
channel or station, we as citizens need to
execute initiatives for change. On Friday,
May 20, 2016, 49 year-old Yvonne Nelson was
shot and killed as an innocent bystander
alongside the corner of the Starbucks on 35th
& State Street in the Bronzeville community
of Chicago. Being a very sensitive issue for
any close relative to Nelson, I was fortunate
to have a thoughtful and highly impactful
conversation with one of her nieces Laurynn
French in relation to this story while also
including her voice and opinion against the
use of gun violence in the city of Chicago.
MADE: When reflecting back to the relationship
with your aunt, was she a close relative?
LF: She was pretty close. She was from my mom’s side
of the family. We spent a lot of time with
her, she used to babysit me and my other cousins so
when it happened I didn’t want to believe it. Every
year they [Laurynn’s mom and her sisters] go to Jamaica. The last time I seen her they were planning to go