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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Is the homicide rate among Black people in Washington disproportionately high?

By Claire Zimmerman
YES

Compared to the rest of the country the homicide rate for Black residents of Washington, D.C., is disproportionately high. About half the city's population is Black. According to the district's police chief, 92% of the city's 166 homicide victims in 2019 were Black, meaning that one in 2,121 Black people were murdered. Looking at data for the previous year, the comparable nationwide rate would be one in 5,903.

Murders in 2019 in Washington reached a 10-year high, the chief said. Statistics for some other major cities show a similar skew. In 2019 in St. Louis, a city with a population that is 45% Black, 90% of homicide victims were Black. In Charlotte, where 35% of the population is Black, 80% of murder victims were Black.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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