Gun violence rhetoric in Milwaukee: racialized violence and the creation of urban space

Gun violence is a widespread problem in the United States. Using the case study of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we analyze gun violence stories shared through the public humanities project, Voices of Gun Violence. We argue that the rhetoric of gun violence in Milwaukee helps constitute and naturalize racialized spatial imaginaries in ways that are imbricated in people's daily lives. Through critically engaging stories of gun violence, we find that gun violence often constructs Black space as inherently dangerous and reinforces racialized containment. However, we argue there are possibilities for resistant Black spatial imaginaries.