Photo Essay| When Black Women Gather

Arts & Culture

Nov 17

When Black Women Gather (WBWG) members,(L-R)Shakira, Jackie, Shirley, Aissatou, signing paperwork before entering the Double Tap Gun Range in downtown Philadelphia, Aug. 27 2022 . (Brian Branch-Price for Public Square Amplified)

PHILADELPHIA, NJ—On a summer day in August, When Black Women Gather (WBWG), an international organization, took a cross-section of Black women from N.J. to learn how to shoot.

"It was a long-awaited adventure originally planned for Mother's Day, pre-pandemic,” said the founder of the organization, Helen Higginbotham.

These women are part of a growing demographic changing the classic face of gun ownership from predominantly white, male, and rural to include Black, female, urban, and professional. According to the Firearm Industry Trade Association, 2020 data shows that firearm sales increased by over 58% for Black men and women.

When asked about the inspiration for the trip, Higginbotham said, "We live in uncertain times and need to learn to protect ourselves."

She raises the fraught relationship America has had with Black people and guns across the history of this country. Most memorable in our contemporary minds is the political movement for gun control as a backlash to the Black Panther Party's fight for gun rights.

The participants took classroom instruction with Thornton Security in Pennsauken, NJ, then crossed the bridge to the Double Tap Gun Range in downtown Philadelphia to practice shooting.

Three of the 30 women who showed up that day carried their own guns.

"I had never held a gun, so it was a new experiment. But I was impressed with the group's enthusiasm, and we may do this again," said Higginbotham.

Public Square Amplified contributor, Brian Branch-Price, joined the group on this outing.