1

EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF BLACK MALES IN PHILADELPHIA

AROUND GUN VIOLENCE AND THE BEHAVIORS/ACTIVITIES

THAT ENCOURAGE GUN CULTURE

By;

Dr. Brian Ellis, ManUpPHL, Board Chairman

Solomon Jones, ManUpPHL, Executive Director

Faith Mitchell-Collins, Drexel University

 2

Executive Summary

ManUpPHL is a non-profit whose mission is to step into the lives of men who are

statistically most likely to be victims or perpetrators of gun violence in Philadelphia. By

providing these young men with mentoring, accountability, resources, and consistency,

ManUpPHL aims to change lives, while bettering our communities.

In recent years there have been numerous attempts with varying levels of success to

address the gun violence epidemic that continues to plague Philadelphia. While city officials,

public educators, community leaders, industry leaders, and others have all been willing

participants in addressing these challenges, we have collectively failed to listen to those most

impacted by gun culture - young black men. The “Listening to the Streets” initiative was

created to give these young men a voice. As the primary victims and perpetrators of violence and

gun activity, these young men through focus groups (cohorts) provide unique perspective on root

causes of said behavior and activities, but most importantly they provide possible solutions.

ManUpPHL recently used some of the “Listening to the Streets” cohorts to empirically

explore the lived experiences of young Black males in Philadelphia around gun violence,

behaviors and activities that encourage gun culture, and possible solutions to deter said behavior.

Grounded in racial identity and social disorganization theories, the research identified eight

essential meanings or themes that descriptively captured lived experiences around the

phenomenon. Themes identified include: (1) trauma, (2) family influence, (3) relationships, (4)

self-worth, (5) communal limitations, (6) communications, (7) formal education, and (8) real-

time engagement.

While the qualitative study afforded participants the opportunity to share their sentiments

around gun culture, it also allowed for these young men to provide insight in the form of
 3

recommendations on what an engaged community could do decrease gun culture and related

activities. Five central recommendations emerged including: (1) Partner 10 incarcerated leaders

with 10 community agencies to address gun violence from the inside out, (2) Create 300 jobs

tailored to those who are most at-risk for being involved in gun violence, (3) Create a parallel

educational experience for middle and high school students who are at high risk to be impacted

by gun violence, (4) Create mental health substations in communities heavily impacted by gun

violence, (5) Train and develop “resource connectors” to connect those engaged in gun violence

with tangible resources and alternatives.

It is the goal of ManUpPHL to use the study’s findings and future cohorts of “Listening

to the Streets” to continue compiling data to expand research, while developing

recommendations and solutions to address gun culture in Philadelphia. Partnerships with

additional stakeholders including media, community organizations, educators, business/industry,

philanthropists, politicians, and others will be critical as disrupting the culture of gun violence in

Philadelphia has become our highest priority.

 4

Purpose

Many scholars have examined gun violence (at length) among Black males in urban

America. These studies have provided insight into a range of topics and issues that have

included structural conditions, politics, and economics to name a few. Absent (or limited) from

the literature, however, has been the lived experiences of young Black males in Philadelphia

around gun violence and the behaviors/activities that encourage gun

culture. This study attempts to minimize gaps in social science research by exploring Black

males’ lived experiences around gun culture in Philadelphia. The investigator(s) will utilize race

identity, and social disorganization theories, while utilizing ManUpPHL’s “Listening to the

Streets” cohorts to deduce reality (ontology) and knowledge (epistemology) amongst

participants. In this interpretive study, by acting as the primary instrument for data collection

through “Listening to the Streets”, the investigator will build an extensive collection of thick

description or detailed records concerning context, people, actions, and their perceptions of

participants as the basis for inductive generation of what is happening within a phenomenon

(Locke et al., 2010).

The research questions that will guide this study are:

RQ1: How do young Black males in Philadelphia describe their lived experiences

associated with gun violence?

RQ2: How do young Black males in Philadelphia describe how their behaviors and

activities influence gun culture?

RQ3: How do young Black males in Philadelphia describe solutions to deter gun violence?
 5

Ideally, the study’s findings will contribute to social science literature, but more importantly

provide a practitioner friendly roadmap and framework for citywide stakeholders to combat the

challenges associated with gun culture and violence in Philadelphia.

Literature Review

Race Identity Theory

Race identity simplified is how an individual views themselves in accordance with their

race. Nevertheless, the true complexity of the term can be attributed to a variety of societal

affairs. For the Black American, race has commonly been used as a means of separation,

discrimination, and negation of power. Therefore, when faced with racial identity, the question is

not only how they see themselves, but also how the world sees them.

When discussing the perception of the Black American, stereotypes play a fundamental

role in the characterization. Historically society has associated Black people, especially men, to

aggressive and criminal behaviors (Welch, 2007). The stereotypic criminal view of the Black

race is so strong that crime and race are often discussed interchangeably (Welch, 2007). These

negative stereotypes can lead to stereotype threat, the fear of confirming negative stereotypes,

which brings about diminished performance (Cohen & Garcia, 2008). In a 12-man research study

of the effects of racial stereotyping on black men and crime, each participant revealed that

criminal stereotyping resulted in an aversive impact on identity (Ford, 2014). Psychologically,

people need to see themselves in a positive manner to feel self-integrity. Unfortunately, the

minority identity does not fulfill this euphoric role (Cohen & Garcia, 2008). The Black

American’s identity is often held hostage to negative stereotypes. Additionally, the mental

warfare between self and perception can ultimately lead to the fulfillment of a violent false

narrative.
 6

Social Disorganization Theory

Shaw and Mckay’s theory on social disorganization purposes that violence and crime

occur because of a community’s failure to maintain a structurally sound environment (Rose &

Clear, 1998). They hypothesize that a community’s failure to succeed can be analyzed through

variables such as poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential mobility (Sampson & Groves,

1989). Black communities often struggle to maintain stability within the three variables due to an

influx of poverty, inconsistent community leadership, and incarceration removing individuals

from society (Rose & Clear, 1998). “Community violence, being a form of interpersonal

violence, can have lasting effects on the individuals such as psychological distress, trauma,

depression and anxiety.” (Burrell et al., 2021). Rose and Clear’s (1998) research has shown

increased neighborhood involvement and connectedness has been negatively correlated to

violence and crime. Therefore, when comparing violence in the Black community to the often-

disorganized community structure, it is fair to fault the violence witnessed to the effects of the

disorganized environment on the individual members.

Research Findings

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of young Black males in

Philadelphia around gun violence and the behaviors/activities that encourage gun culture.

Presented are the study’s findings by exploring the lived experiences of multiple cohorts of

young Black male Philadelphians. Included in this section are the following components:

recruitment and focus group procedures; participant demographics; transcription and theme

development using NVivo 12 software, a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software

(CAQDAS); and the hermeneutic phenomenological method of data analysis.

 7

Focus group interviews were recorded digitally to allow for complete verbatim

transcription. The interview is the most prominent data-collection tool in qualitative research,

allowing the researcher to access subjects’ perceptions, meanings, and definitions

of a situation, as well as their construction of reality (Punch, 2013).

The study included the following three primary research questions:

RQ1: How do young Black males in Philadelphia describe their lived experiences

associated with gun violence?

RQ2: How do young Black males in Philadelphia describe how their behaviors

and activities influence gun culture?

RQ3: How do young Black males in Philadelphia describe solutions to deter gun

violence?

The focus group interviews for the present study followed a semi-structured format, with

predetermined questions where the order of inquiry was modified based on the researcher’s

perception (van Teijlingen, 2014). Interviews were also recorded via audio, transcribed, and

categorized using NVivo 12 software to sort sentiment, themes, and attributes.

Moustakas’s (1994) Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data, also advanced by Kleiman

(2004), was used for this study and provided a seven-step approach to analyzing collected data.

Essential meanings are presented here according to the central research questions, using data text

to support participants’ views and expressions (Ani, 2017).

Recruitment Procedures and Interviews

Kitzinger (1996) and Morgan (1996) posit that the primary advantage of focus-group

interviews is the purposeful use of participant interactions to generate data. The three main

components of focus-group research include (1) a method devoted to data collection, (2)
 8

interaction as a source of data, and (3) the investigator’s active role in creating group discussions

for data collection (Morgan, 1996). Calder (1977) argues that focus groups can be

phenomenological in that they give access to common-sense conceptions and everyday

explanations of those studied.

For this study, focus-group interviews were useful for reflecting the social realities of

young Black males in Philadelphia through direct access to the language and

concepts that structured their experiences (Hughes & DuMont, 1993). This researcher does

understand that focus-group interviews are not as strong as other data-collection methods in

providing a rich understanding of participants’ knowledge of the phenomenon in context.

Contact was initially made with a gatekeeper who held a prominent position at

ManUpPHL. According to Rattani and Johns (2017), gatekeepers serve as

consultants between the investigator and potential participants in terms of study recruitment

strategies and conduct. Additionally, gatekeepers aid in setting and ensuring expectations

between the researcher and study participants. The gatekeeper for this study was a volunteer for

ManUpPHL who provided the research team with a list of nine subjects that opted to participate

in the focus group interviews.

The list of prospective research participants who met the research criteria were selected

using purposeful sampling (Ani, 2017). The focus groups were conducted in-person and recorded

by two methods: a digital smartphone recorder using the rev.com app and field notes. The

average focus group lasted approximately 2 hours.

In this phenomenological study, the researcher was restrained by eliciting life experiences

and hearing and reporting the informants’ narrative perspectives (DePoy & Gitlin, 2011). These

narratives, or textural descriptions, enabled the researcher to derive structural themes or essential
 9

meanings through phenomenological reduction. Through this process of imaginative

variation, the researcher understood there was no single inroad to truth, but countless

possibilities emerged and were intimately connected with the essence and meaning of

the subjects’ experiences (Moustakas, 1994). According to Kafle (2011), through this

process, themes or layers emerge that were previously either hidden or had not been seen

before. This study employed composite textural description, “an integration of all of the

individual textural descriptions into a group or universal textural description” (Moustakas, 1994,

p. 182).

Participant Demographics

Participants from different backgrounds that were connected to ManUpPHL were

recruited for this study and each given a stipend of $240. All considered themselves familiar with

gun culture and violence, but they brought a wide range of personal, family and neighborhood

experiences to the study. Participants selected or were given pseudonyms to protect their

identities. The demographic data of the participants are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

Participants' Demographic Data

Participant Pseudonym Neighborhood Age Race Gender

DD North Philadelphia 19 Black M

MM North Philadelphia 20 Black M

ZA South Philadelphia 21 Black M

KB Overbrook 24 Black M

NS North Philadelphia 26 Black M

 10

TM Frankford 26 Black M

CM North Philadelphia 35 Black M

Transcription and Analysis

Audio recordings from the interviews were sent to Rev.com, a professional transcription

service for verbatim transcription. Focus-group sessions for this study were uploaded and

coded using NVivo 12, a data-management web application that allows researchers to organize,

import, code, manage and analyze text, audio, video, email, images, spreadsheets, surveys, etc.

All transcripts were subsequently analyzed using the aforementioned software. Some examples

of the verbatim transcripts from the interviews that illustrate participants’ lived experiences of

the phenomenon relative to the essential meanings are shared in the Elaboration of Findings

section.

Advanced Moustakas Method of Analysis

Kleiman (2004) advanced the framework developed by Moustakas (1994) in analyzing

collected data. The seven-step process includes (1) getting a sense of the whole, (2)

discriminating meaning units, (3) condensing meaning units, (4) finding essential meanings, (5)

elaborating on findings, (6), substantiating raw data, and (7) critically analyzing the researcher’s

work.

Getting a sense of the whole. The first step in the data-analysis process for this study

was getting a sense of the whole, which the researcher accomplished by reading the transcribed

focus group responses in their entirety to gain a global perspective. According to Kleiman

(2004), “The global sense is important for determining how the parts might be constituted” (p.

5). As previously mentioned, Rev.com’s transcription services were used to obtain verbatim
 11

responses from the study’s subjects. To achieve maximum openness, the transcript reading took

place with the attitude of phenomenological reduction, which Kleiman (2004) posits requires a

two-step process.

The first step is to withhold prior knowledge of the phenomenon (or bracketing) so the

researcher may take the participants’ lived experiences precisely as they are described. To

identify biases and presuppositions prior to the interviews and data analysis, the researcher

dialogued with colleagues and peers who questioned and brought forward the researcher’s

awareness of previous knowledge, experiences, and beliefs about gun

culture. This researcher disclosed in dialogue with colleagues and peers the origins of gun

culture, particularly around the killings of Black inner-city males. This researcher’s experiences

and beliefs associated with gun culture was limited, which contributed to his attentiveness to and

openness about the descriptions participants shared.

The second part of the phenomenological reduction process that supports getting a sense

of the whole is to withhold any existential claims, which means to consider what is given

precisely as it is given as presence or a phenomenon (Giorgi, 2004). Textural data is provided to

demonstrate the participants’ lived experiences with the phenomenon. For example, existential

claims were acknowledged in the raw emotion, tone, inflection, and delivery of experiences

Speaker KB shared when he was questioned about friends that have been victimized or

perpetrated acts of gun violence and his relationship with them:

“I try to break apart from all the chaos. Things just started getting worse. I got homies

that are beefing with each other. I’m at the point where I just stay in my lane, I do my

own thing…I just rather not be in the middle of it…you got to pick a side”
 12

Speaker TM invoked the needs and desires of physical things when he was asked about

tangible activities that influence gun culture:

“Everybody praises the motherfucker who got the ice on and…praise the drug dealers.

These Niggas ain’t doing shit but making our community worse”

Focus group sessions with study participants supported the researcher in getting a sense

of the whole. Nuances of experiences were conveyed through facial expressions, gestures, tears,

silence, and other vocal dynamics (Kleiman, 2004).

Discriminate meaning units. The second step in the process of analyzing collected data

is to discriminate meaning units. According to Graneheim and Lundman (2004), a meaning unit

is the constellation of words or statements that relate to the same central unit. For this

study, the researcher considered “meaning units as words, sentences or paragraphs containing

aspects related to each other through their content and context” (Graneheim & Lundman,

2004, p. 106). The researcher used questions to assist in the process of discriminating meaning

units. Rarely did participants’ words evoke a rapid or drastic shift in meaning units, as the focus

group script prompted relevant and timely responses. Having grasped the essence of the

whole, the researcher read through the text once more with the specific aim of discriminating

meaning units from the subject’s perspective with the focus on the gun culture phenomenon

(Thorkildsen & Raholm, 2010). Upon uploading focus group transcripts into NVivo 12, text

about the participants’ experiences relevant to the questions was extracted and brought together

into singular nodes, or central units. Nodes were created to assist this researcher in categorizing

data input into NVivo 12. Given the structure and sequencing of questions within the study, of

the eight nodes, the inquiries prompted eight to nine participants to answer, and references to

each node ranged between 11 and 18. Table 2 illustrates the nodes that were created, having
 13

been derived from the main research questions; the nodes’ identified meaning units; the number

of participants who referenced each node; and the number of times each node was referenced.

Table 2

Nodes Created from Main Research Questions

Research Node Meaning Unit Respondents References

Question
RQ1 Personal Becoming numb to the pain; this 9 15
experience as a has become the norm, yet
victim or recognizing the trauma
perpetrator of gun
violence and its
effect.

RQ1 Friends or family Family got me into this life, as 9 13

members who have fathers were not around or
been victimized or growing up imitating what we are
perpetrated acts of surrounded by. Family
gun violence and understands the dire situation by
its effect including praying and attempting to
your relationships. demonstrate how to live
RQ1 How you have seen A bond is developed, as we all 8 24
your peers get live in this sick village. Friends
involved in gun become everything more than
culture and what riches where we are in this
were your together and retribution is a
impressions? necessity
RQ2 What are the Reputations and the need for 9 10
cognitive behaviors retaliation have become primary
that influence drivers. There is an overriding
participation in gun lack of love internally that is a
culture result of actions from family,
community, and government
RQ2 What are the Neighborhood and block 9 20
tangible activities affiliation are prevalent. Failing
that influence schools and lack of financial
participation in gun resources restrict options
culture
RQ3 What can you do to Continue to learn by talking to 9 15
deter or eliminate others within our communities
gun violence
RQ3 What can the Gun education within our 9 14
community do to schools is necessary. No one
 14

deter or eliminate talks to young people and

gun violence assumptions are being made on
what needs to be thought (in
schools)
RQ3 What can elected Elected official must be more 9 18
officials do to deter present in the neighborhoods.
or eliminate gun Laws and policies must be
violence enacted in real-time to combat
these challenges

Condensing meaning units. After the focus groups, text was sorted into eight meaning

units or content areas, the next step was to condense meaning units. Here, Kleiman (2004)

suggests the researcher condense units to make sense of them. Condensing meaning units

required consolidating text from meaning units that served as critical to participant interviews

based on the primary research question to be addressed. Condensing meaning units was a

manageable process and supported by NVivo 12. Meaning units were condensed from

interviews using NVivo 12 software query and word-frequency functionalities, thus producing a

condensed meaning unit. Table 3 shows the meaning unit, the condensed meaning unit, and

essential meaning.

As meaning units were condensed, it was important for the study to

maintain a disciplinary perspective. Largely unconscious, disciplinary perspective

influences how research and teachings within a prescribed discipline are pursued (Szostak,

2015). The research team remained faithful to the disciplinary perspective of young black men.

In other studies, even though the participants could share characteristics with those in the

present study, it would be legitimate to impose disciplinary perspectives of sociology,

psychology, or pedagogy (Kleiman, 2004). However, meaning units have been properly

analyzed and condensed from the disciplinary perspective of young Black males in Philadelphia.
 15

Finding essential meaning. The next part of the data-analysis

procedure required subjecting the transformed meaning units into the FIV process. According to

Kleiman (2004), the FIV process is used to determine which of the meaning units is essential for

and constitutive of a fixed identity for the phenomenon under study. Using this device, an

experience of young Black males in Philadelphia was subjected to every imaginable variation

among its meaning units to see how far it could be stretched before losing its identity. FIV is

a type of mental experimentation in which the researcher intentionally alters via his or

her imagination different aspects of the experience as conveyed by the

informant, either by taking from or adding to the proposed transformation

(Spiegelberg & Schuhmann, 1982). The point of this exercise is to “imaginatively stretch the

proposed transformation to the edges until it no longer describes the experience underlying the

subjects’ naïve description” (Polkinghorne, 1989, p. 55).

For this study, this researcher enacted FIV by asking the question, “Is this phenomenon

still the same if we imaginatively change or delete this theme from the phenomenon?”

(van Manen, 1990, p. 107). Using imaginary conversations or scenarios, the researcher attempted

to construct additional cases around identified meaning units while removing young Black males

in Philadelphia as the context. For example, young Black males in Philadelphia was

removed from the meaning unit that encapsulated “becoming numb to the pain; this has become the

norm, yet recognizing the trauma” of this group, the FIV process verified that the theme

belonged to the phenomenon rather than being incidental. According to Polkinghorne (1989), the

FIV process or transformation should be publicly verifiable so other researchers agree that the

transformed expression does not describe a process that is contained in the original

expression. Removed from the context of young Black males in Philadelphia, “What can you do to
 16

deter or eliminate gun violence” (Node 5) and “Friends or family members who have been victimized or

perpetrated acts of gun violence and its effect including your relationships” (Node 2) continued to

resonate, allowing for the phenomenological nod, acknowledging a good

description that recognizes an experience that was had or could have been had (van Manen,

1990) by others, even outside the phenomenon of study.

Elaborating on findings. The fifth step in the data-analysis process was to elaborate

on the findings, which included describing essential meaning. Through the FIV process, the

meaning units were condensed and then abstracted and labeled with an essential

meaning. During this step and through horizontalization, this researcher identified relevant

statements and deleted similar statements (Moustakas, 1994), resulting in the creation of textual

analysis and descriptions of what study participants expressed. Table 3 illustrates meaning units,

condensed meaning units, and essential meaning.

Table 3

Meaning Unit, Condensed Meaning Unit, and Essential Meaning (Horizontalization)

Meaning Unit Condensed Meaning Unit Essential Meaning

Becoming numb to the pain; this Activity has become normalized and trauma Trauma
has become the norm, yet inducing
recognizing the trauma
Family got me into this life, as Observing role models in the family that are Family influence
fathers were not around or negative and positive
growing up imitating what we
are surrounded by. Family
understands the dire situation by
praying and attempting to
demonstrate how to live
A bond is developed, as we all Connection and relationships with peers are Relationships
live in this sick village. Friends of the upmost importance in the streets
become everything more than
riches where we are in this
together and retribution is a
necessity
Reputations and the need for Outside influences drive internal struggles Self-worth
retaliation have become primary and self-hatred
drivers. There is an overriding
 17

lack of love internally that is a

result of actions from family,
community, and government
Neighborhood and block Affiliation with impoverished communities Communal limitations
affiliation are prevalent. Failing and systems strengthens the culture
schools and lack of financial
resources restrict options
Continue to learn by talking Lacking foundational knowledge of Communications
to others within our institutions and those within the community
communities
Gun education within our Reimagination of what is of value within Formal education
schools is necessary. No one formal education; hearing from the
talks to young people and constituency
assumptions are being made
on what needs to be thought
(in schools)
Elected official must be more Becoming a priority of policy makers and not Real-time engagement
present in the neighborhoods. an afterthought to combat current challenges
Laws and policies must be around violence
enacted in real-time to
combat these challenges

The whole context of what informants shared was considered when condensing and

labeling meaning units with essential meanings (Graneheim & Lundman, 2004).

The following essential meanings based on the meaning units were identified and represented in

this study as themes: (1) trauma, (2) family influence, (3) relationships, (4) self-worth, (5)

communal limitations, (6) communications, (7) formal education, and (8) real-time

engagement. Essential themes were defined and clarified with examples from the raw data

(Kleinman, 2004) and textural data is offered as follows:

1. Trauma has not been accurately identified as a challenge of those that

have been impacted by gun violence. Within the context of this study, there is a

pain and numbness being absorbed by young black men in Philadelphia that is not

being addressed.
 18

• Speaker TM shared, “My dad passed away from gun violence while my

mom was pregnant with me…I was later shot down the street from where my

dad was killed.”

• Speaker KB said, “there ain’t no therapy for what is going on in the

street”

• Speaker CM explained, “If it’s a single parent home, there should be a

group therapy session.”

2. Family influence albeit positive or negative plays a critical role in the

development of young black men from Philadelphia. From fathers to cousins and

praying grandmas family either sets the stage of young black men and their street

activities (or lack thereof).

• Speaker TM explained, “…and I thank god for my uncles..I learned from

them to be involved with and to take care of your kids .”

• Speaker ZA said, “My own cousin gave me a gun…my first gun.”

• Speaker ZA stated, “I never had no dad. So nobody told me what I was

doing was wrong…a mom cannot raise no man.”

3. Relationships in the context of this study meant an ecosystem of

connectivity and loyalty.

• Speaker ZA shared, “You will hop in the streets just because your friend

dies…it’s just about revenge.”

• Speaker ZA explained, “I pulled up to the streets because I lost my

friend…I lost my closest homie. Let me in.”

 19

• Speaker CM said, “Damn! I can’t even have a conversation with this man

before he pulls a gun out. No conversation at all.”

4. Self-worth, as identified by study participants, was a relevant factor for

young black men in Philadelphia. Not to be confused with self-esteem, self-worth

is internal sense of being good enough and worthy of love.

• Speaker TM stated, “You got to respect something and a lot of us, we

don’t got respect for nothing.”

• Speaker ZA stated, “We all die, ain’t nobody trying to die now and we

want to live peaceful lives but that’s most likely is not going to happen

because we from Philly.”

• Speaker ZA explained, “…because we don’t see health, positivity,

success. You know what I mean? We only seeing bad stuff. A lot of negativity,

so, it ain’t no hope.”

5. Communal limitations were widely recognized by young black men in

Philadelphia influence participation in gun culture. The infrastructure of the

communities are destined for failure.

• Speaker ZA, “Make everything equal. It’s not equal. And we see it,

because we getting the bad end of it…The whites, the Asians, all the other

races, they not getting the short stick of everything.”

• Speaker ZA explained, “…because the people who got the guns, they run

the community. The peoples who live in the community is scared to even

approach the people with the guns.”

 20

• Speaker ZA said, “Most of the time at school, they don’t let you pick

[internship] though. They’ll assign you one, so that’s where a lot of people

fall at, because they not really doing what they want to do.”

6. Communications was expressed by young black males in Philadelphia as

an important component to deter gun violence. The ability to communicate across

all stakeholders including victims, perpetrators of violence, community members,

law enforcement and government officials will be critical as individuals listen,

learn and lead.

• Speaker ZA explained, “People think I’m a bully. I don’t know how to

communicate, and all that.”

• Speaker NS shared, “…they just throwing it out in the universe and

whoever catches it, well they catch it…you know who you are talking to…it’s

basically indirect talking creating unnecessary beef”.

• According to Speaker NS, “gun violence happens because people don’t

ask for help.”

7. Formal education has not supported efforts or initiatives to minimize gun

violence. In fact, the structure of formal education in the city lead to many of the

challenges associated with gun violence in the city.

• Speaker NS shared, “…it all started from school, school beefs that lead to

outside of school [and neighborhood beef].”

• Speaker NS said, “…no kid left behind? What is that? That’s basically

telling us to give up. Y’all don’t allow us to fail, y’all just putting us in the

next grade. That’s giving up on us. Ain’t none of this normal”

 21

• Speaker ZA explained, “Schools need to change whats going on outside of

school. Hold kids accountable, meaning know how to clock in, meaning know

how to come to school on time. Every grade level and every student got a

responsibility in the school to show that they have some type of responsibility

when they get there.”

8. Real-time engagement is a marketing strategy around having the right

technology, the right data, and the right approach to collaboration that could be

adapted to solutions around gun violence. Having the right variables in real time

will impact communities plagued by gun violence.

• According to Speaker ZA, “I wanna hear from success people, who not

stuck in the same environment as me. I’m willing to learn…you just got to

know somebody in that community already trying to make a change.”

• Speaker CM stated, “…everyone have to get involved from churches

through police districts through the state senate within the area, your

neighborhood. Showing that our neighborhoods can be clean and safe”

• Speaker CM suggested, “…as much as they promote COVID safety and

vaccines, they need to promote getting rid of gun violence in our

neighborhoods. Have commercials, have posters out. Get celebrities

involved, just as much as how celebrities want us to promote the end of

COVID and taking the shot.”

Structure of the Phenomenon of Interest

The structure is the major finding of a descriptive phenomenology inquiry (Kleiman,

2004). According to Moustakas (1994), using structural descriptions, the researcher provides a
 22

distinct and clear account of essential meaning and context that make up the underlying

dynamics of lived experiences. In this study, the researcher articulated a structure using an

interpretivist viewpoint based upon the phenomenon of young Black males in Philadelphia

around gun violence.

Structural description for essential meaning: Trauma. Young black men in

Philadelphia are experiencing all forms of trauma including acute, chronic, and complex.

Identifying, providing coping mechanisms and support are critical to interrupt the cycle of gun

violence.

Structural description for essential meaning: Family Influence. The adage it takes a

village to raise a child is true, however starting with a strong family structure and influences are

essential in the life of young black men to minimize participation in gun culture.

Structural description for essential meaning: Relationships. A bond is formed, not in

terms of intimacy but an emotional connection to others encouraged by trust, vulnerability,

acceptance and shared values or experiences.

Structural description for essential meaning: Self-worth. Devalued by society, young

black men have continued to question their worth and abilities. The need for “things” or

accomplishments have been drivers forcing young black men to question internal abilities thus

the need to participate in violence and gun culture. Explicitly aligns with tenets of race identity

and negation of power.

Structural description for essential meaning: Communal limitations. Broken and

impoverished communities lead to broken individuals. Systems or structures have not been

established to alter the trajectory of the neighborhoods and environments that young black males

call home. Racial Identity and Social Disorganization theories frames the disparities tied to
 23

structural violence, institutional racism, and social injustices that penetrate the communities

occupied by black men.

Structural description for essential meaning: Communications. There continues to

be a major void in the act of giving, receiving, and sharing information among young black men

and communal stakeholders. This research may have presented one of the only opportunities for

these young men to be heard by listening to their stories and experiences.

Structural description for essential meaning: Formal Education. Educational

structures within Philadelphia have been outdated and have not been altered to address current

needs and trends of black men in the 21st century. The need to pivot and consideration of

alternative education and educational development will be necessary.

Structural description for essential meaning: Real-time engagement. Similar to the

need in updating and addressing formal education, real-time engagement is needed around other

constructs that impact young black men in Philadelphia. Strategies around policing, local

representation, industry, and other areas need to be modified to address current needs as they

present themselves.

Substantiating the Raw Data

The next step in the data-analysis process was to return to the raw data. Because the

richness of phenomenology lies in raw data, researchers must return to raw data descriptions to

justify the articulations of the essential meaning and general structure (Kleiman, 2004). In

returning to the raw data for this study, the investigator utilized manual text-mining techniques

and strategies to assist in justifying essential meanings. Text mining is “the discovery and

extraction of interesting, non-trivial knowledge from free or unstructured text” (Kao & Poteet,

2007, p. 1). While NVivo 12 provided computer-aided text analysis for the study by extracting
 24

patterns and counting word/term frequencies, the size and scope of collected data afforded the

researcher the opportunity to manually mine text, as well.

NVivo 12 allowed for text clustering through the creation of nodes. It supported the study

by asking, “How can I form groups of text?” The researcher returned to the raw data and

deployed the text-mining activity of “summarization” to address the question, “How can I

summarize text and extract keywords and key sentences?” (Kobayashi,

Mol, Berkers, Kismihok, & Den Hartog, 2018, p. 737). The researcher was able to measure the

importance of each sentence (word) of the transcript when returning to the raw data by

manually matching patterns and extracting keywords and key phrases with highlighting. An

example of this process is illustrated in Figure 1 for the essential meaning of trauma. This

manual process involved identifying exact matches, stemmed words, synonyms, and

specializations within the raw data.

traumatic
pain

hurt

trauma

Figure 1. Manual text-mining process for the essential meaning of trauma.

Critical Analysis
 25

The final step in the data-analysis process required the researcher to critically

analyze his work. In this study, the critical-analysis stage included verifying that concrete,

detailed descriptions had been obtained from participants; phenomenological reduction had

been maintained throughout the analysis and essential meanings had been discovered; a

structure had been articulated; and the results had been verified in the raw data (Kleiman,

2004). The researcher used the focus groups moderators to assist in the critical analysis of the

study and to confirm analysis as a critical step, as posited by Colaizzi (1978).

ManUpPHL moderators were asked to justify the essential meanings and general

structure of this study. Additionally, they were able to review the investigator’s analyses

by reviewing a summary and description of identified essential meanings and, where new or

relevant data was offered, viewed data that had been incorporated into the analysis. The

moderator’s input also afforded the researcher the opportunity for member-checking to improve

accuracy, credibility, and validity of the data obtained during the interview process (Harper &

Cole, 2012).

Summary

Research findings portion of this paper described the data-collection and -analysis

process of a phenomenological study that explored the lived experiences of young Black males

in Philadelphia around gun violence and the behaviors/activities that encourage gun culture. This

included the participant recruitment and focus group process, analysis of data using both

the NVivo 12 web application and text mining, and development of eight essential meanings.

The following essential emerging themes were identified: (1) trauma, (2) family influence, (3)

relationships, (4) self-worth, (5) communal limitations, (6) communications, (7) formal
 26

education, and (8) real-time engagement. The eight essential meanings arose from a process of

reduction according to phenomenological processes.

Verbatim quotes of informants were provided to highlight the experiences of young

Black males in Philadelphia around gun violence. Structural descriptions were also

offered to provide the researcher’s perception of the phenomenon.

Finally, a critical analysis was conducted, aided by input from ManUp PHL moderators

to improve accuracy, credibility, and validity of analyzed data.

Recommendations

This study’s findings provide a foundation from which future research may continue to

explore the lived experiences of young Black males in Philadelphia around gun violence and the

behaviors/activities that encourage gun culture. More importantly, the qualitative study afforded

these young men the opportunity to share thoughts around this phenomenon, while providing

insight through recommendations on what an engaged community could do curtail said activities

and behaviors. Five tangible recommendations that were shared by study participants have been

developed around essential meanings that have emerged from this study:

1. Partner 10 incarcerated leaders with 10 community agencies to address gun

violence from the inside out.
“If it was my program, I would talk to convicted felons who got gun cases, violent cases,
shootings, murders. I want to talk to them first, so that way I could see if I could get them on
page to help me talk to the other ones … They the ones that got life and stuff like that, and
football numbers and all that. Who else they going to listen to than the person that's next in line?
I'm saying we should do more.” – Speaker NS

Direct the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to identify 10 incarcerated leaders

who have created successful anti-violence initiatives within the prison system. Then partner

those leaders with community-based non-profits that can activate existing support systems for

returning citizens. This approach creates space for dialogue with those who have engaged in gun
 27

violence, and does so by first acknowledging and then utilizing the existing prison leadership

structure. Among the approximately 5,100 Pennsylvania inmates serving life sentences, there are

numerous men and women who are already doing this work. One of them is Dr. Thomas

Robinson, who earned his doctorate while serving life without the possibility of parole.

Dr. Robinson created the Community Forgiveness and Restoration program, which

engages lifers to prepare inmates for their release through a multi-week curriculum. Through

partnerships with faith-based institutions, CFR creates a community that connects with these

returning citizens, links them with a life coach on the outside, and assists them with gaining

employment. One of the men who worked directly with Dr. Robinson to administer CFR at

Graterford prison has been released and is currently employed in the Philadelphia District

Attorney’s Office. Two men who were mentored by Dr. Robinson are currently employed by the

City of Philadelphia.

We recommend that the Department of Corrections provide additional support to Dr.

Robinson and nine additional prison-based leaders. We further recommend that the state of

Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia seek $300,000 in philanthropic support to assist

community organizations who work directly with 50 of the returning citizens who complete

prisoner-led anti-violence programs. Essential meanings identified that align with this

recommendation include relationships, self-worth, communications, and real-time engagement.

2. Create 300 jobs tailored to those who are most at-risk for being involved in
gun violence.
“You gotta come up with a better business than the game.” – Speaker MM

Recruit 10 private sector employers to provide jobs at a $30,000 annual rate to 300

people who are most at risk for being involved in gun violence. This targeted $9 million
 28

investment would focus on young Black and Latino males residing in zip codes where

unemployment and poverty have helped to drive the increase in shootings. Participating

employers should be intentional in focusing on those with criminal records. Such records are one

of the main barriers to employment, and as a June 2021 study by the Philadelphia Department of

Public Health indicates, unemployment is a key driver of gun violence.

In the study, Chronic Male Unemployment and Gun Violence in Philadelphia,

researchers found that Philadelphia zip codes where 39-to-50 percent of males were chronically

unemployed experienced between 273 and 290 shootings per zip code from 2015 to 2020. By

way of contrast, zip codes where chronic male unemployment was between 1 and 8 percent had

fewer than 12 shootings per zip code over the same time period.

Investing in work to stem the tide of gun violence makes economic sense. Not only

because the $9 million cost of employing 300 people at a living wage is much lower than the $12

million cost of incarcerating those same individuals in state prisons. It makes sense because these

individuals would become taxpayers.

To incentivize private employers to engage in this approach, we recommend that the City

of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provide tax breaks to participating

employers to offset up to fifty percent of salary costs. We further recommend that medical

institutions in the City of Philadelphia donate the cost of medical care for these employees, thus

reducing the cost of benefits.

As Listening to the Streets participants repeatedly stated, minimum wage employment is

not a sufficient incentive for those who have had the opportunity to make money quickly through

illicit means. Gainful employment with family sustaining wages is needed, and if private
 29

employers are given tax incentives to provide it, Philadelphia can create a better business than

the drug game. Essential meanings that align with funding employment include self-worth,

communal limitations, formal education, and real-time engagement.

3. Create a parallel educational experience for middle and high school students
who are at high risk to be impacted by gun violence
“We all go to one school, because we C-grade or below. So, we got to go to that school and be
around the kids that don't want to learn nothing. So, they put us in that setting, and it's like,
‘Give up.’ That's basically what it is. The solution is, just stop with that. They need to get rid of
feeder schools. Period. I'm talking about from ninth grade. When I found out what it was. ‘Oh,
this is a feeder school. This is what we got to go to because you didn't get your right grades.’ But
I'm like, ‘Oh, I applied for Central. I applied to School of the Future. I applied to Saul. Yo, can
y’all give me some help, so I can get into one of these? … So basically, it's like you guys want me
to turn into a monster, because you're putting me around with other monsters. So, I had no
option but to become that, too, to protect myself.” – Speaker NS
Partner each Philadelphia area university with the School District of Philadelphia to

create magnet school experiences for 500 students hailing from the zip codes most affected by

gun violence. Students would not be admitted based on grade point average or test scores.

Rather, they would be admitted based on their ability to think critically, their skill in navigating

adversity, and their willingness to learn. Each university would work with its college of

education to create rich educational experiences for students who express a desire to receive

them. This program would function like an internship, with the student spending half the day in

their neighborhood school, and half the day at the university. They would receive high school

and college credit for their coursework, and would receive points toward their admission to the

university upon completing high school.

This pilot program would not require any capital funding, since it would take place in

existing facilities and utilize available equipment. Operational funding totaling $1000 per child

could be provided by foundations or corporate sponsors. This investment, totaling $500,000,

 30

would assist with transportation and other expenses associated with the program. Best of all, it

would disrupt the school to prison pipeline, and create a pathway of a different sort.

Our schools don’t have to be what our Listening to the Streets participants described –

places where conflict boils over on social media and explodes into neighborhood gun violence.

By partnering with universities, we can create lessons that are real; lessons that not only give

students the how, but also the why.

In the words of participant ZA, “It’s too much BS in school. It's not real enough. You

know what I mean? The school, you get like two teachers that's real and that's fun. So, let's have

it all real. Teach all real stuff. Have a principal that'll change everything up.”

Launching a pilot program that gives at-risk students a chance to engage in something

real not only gives them the opportunity for a better education. It stops gun violence in the place

where it too often begins—school. Trauma, self-worth, formal education, and real-time

engagement are essential meanings that align with this recommendation.

4. Create mental health substations in communities heavily impacted by gun

violence.
"Everybody should have a therapist or somebody they should talk to. I think if people got that
amount of money and we could put into some type of program where the youth, a mass youth,
would be able to have somebody they could come and talk to on a daily basis instead of, if they
don't, they just go somewhere else and just do whatever. That's most likely what's happening
now. So, if they had some place they could come to on a daily basis and just talk to anybody, or
somebody specifically that they want to talk to about what's going on in they lives, that would
probably ease a lot of what's going on right now. – Speaker DD
Draft Philadelphia-based medical schools and Black licensed therapists to provide free,

neighborhood-based mental health services in partnership with 16 community members who will

be trained, paid and certified to assist. This $500,000 investment in those community members

would pay a $30,000 annual salary for one year, and it could be funded by a community grantor
 31

such as the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services, which offers grants to organizations that

“support the health and well-being of local individuals and families in need.” The families

impacted by gun violence fit Pew’s stated mission, especially since they have borne the brunt of

the trauma associated with thousands of shootings and have largely done so without adequate

mental health services. In this, Philadelphia is not alone.

In a 2017 study, the American Psychiatric Association found that “only one in three

African Americans who need mental health care receive it.” That disparity is driven by multiple

factors, including a lack of health insurance, a scarcity of culturally competent mental health care

providers, and the near-absence of Black providers. In addition, there is a stigma attached to

mental health in the Black community, and there is an abiding mistrust of the medical profession

driven by historical racism and unethical experiments. All of those realities must be

acknowledged, but in communities where gun violence is creating out ongoing trauma, those

realities must quickly be overcome.

Listening to the Streets participants repeatedly indicated that emotional hurt is often

present long before gunshots are fired. From broken family relationships to generational poverty,

from unaddressed grief to post-traumatic stress disorder, the young people who engage in gun

violence experience trauma throughout their lives. The resultant mental health issues are almost

universally untreated. We can change that by partnering established institutions, a targeted

funder, qualified Black therapists and trusted community members to provide culturally

competent mental health services on the ground. The essential meanings of trauma, self-worth,

communal limitations, communications, and real-time engagement associate with this

recommendation.
 32

5. Train and develop “resource connectors” to connect those engaged in gun

violence with tangible resources and alternatives
“You can't just go build a bond with somebody who got a gun on the streets. You got to already
have that bond with them, he got to already be close with you, because it's hard to open up to
people in the streets. It's hard to communicate. People in the streets got harder communication
skills … You just got to know somebody in that community already trying to make a change.” –
Speaker ZA
Partner with Philadelphia’s professional sports community to raise $1 million to contract

with 30 “resource connectors” who will assist young people seeking to leave gun violence

behind. These individuals will be existing community members—people who are already known

and trusted by those with whom they will work. Their job will be to personally connect young

people to the resources we have recommended, and to other resources that already exist.

Trained by local universities, and working in partnership with corporate, foundation, non-

profit, governmental, and community-based entities, these individuals will be equipped with a

list of options that will help them to bring personalized services to communities ravaged by gun

violence. These services and supports include, but are not limited to, individual and family

therapy, life skills training, educational opportunities, vocational training, life coaching, and

most importantly, jobs.

To achieve this end, resource connectors will use a strategy similar to the model that is

frequently utilized to serve the needs of at-risk children in school settings. They will “wrap

around” a youth and their family in their home, school, and neighborhood. Utilizing trusted

community members to implement this comprehensive approach builds on the traditional

“credible messenger” model by working with young people before the conflict begins, rather

than trying to convince them to peacefully settle arguments that could lead to gun violence.
 33

Resource connectors can be grandmothers, neighbors, teachers, or friends; people whose

credibility springs from the fact that they are “already trying to make a change.” By combining

the credible messenger and wrap-around approaches, and expanding them beyond their

traditional boundaries, Philadelphia can create a national model for advocates who move

proactively to reduce gun violence—not through programs, but through relationships. Funding

community-based advocates address the essential meanings of family influence, relationships,

self-worth, communications, and real-time engagement.

 34

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2017). Mental Health Disparities: African Americans.

Mental-Health-Facts-for-African-Americans.pdf

Ani, J. O. (2017). The lived experiences of leaders and their support of employees seeking to

gain work-life balance and job satisfaction in a cross-cultural environment (Unpublished

doctoral dissertation). Indiana Institute of Technology, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Burrell, M., White, A. M., Frerichs, L., Funchess, M., Cerulli, C., DiGiovanni, L., & Lich, K. H.

(2021). Depicting “the system”: How structural racism and disenfranchisement in the

United States can cause dynamics in community violence among males in urban black

communities. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 272, 113469–113469.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113469

Calder, B. J. (1977). Focus groups and the nature of qualitative marketing research. Journal of

Marketing Research, 14, 353-364.

Cohen, G. L., & Garcia, J. (2008). Identity, Belonging, and Achievement: A Model,

Interventions, Implications. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(6), 365–

369. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20183324

Colaizzi, P. F. (1973). Reflection and research in psychology. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt

Publishing.

Department of Public Health. (2021, June). Chronic Male Unemployment and Gun Violence in

Philadelphia. Chartv6e6.pdf (phila.gov)

DePoy, E., & Gitlin, L. N. (2011). Introduction to research: Understanding and applying

multiple strategies (4th ed.). St Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

 35

Ford, D. E. (2014). The psychology of racial profiling what is the experience of black men

relative to criminal stereotypes?(Order No. 3619724). Available from Ethnic

NewsWatch; ProQuest One Academic. (1535293515). Retrieved from

http://ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-

com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/dissertations-theses/psychology-racial-profiling-what-is-

experience/docview/1535293515/se-2?accountid=10559

Fornili, K. S. (2018). Racialized Mass Incarceration and the War on Drugs. Journal of

Addictions Nursing, 29 (1), 65-72. doi: 10.1097/JAN.0000000000000215.

Frerichs, L., PhD., Lich, K. H., PhD., Funchess, M., Burrell, M., M.D., Cerulli, Catherine,J.D.,

PhD., Bedell, P., & White, A. M., EdD. (2016). Applying critical race theory to group

model building methods to address community violence. Progress in Community Health

Partnerships, 10(3), 443-459. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-

com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/scholarly-journals/applying-critical-race-theory-group-

model/docview/1850091244/se-2?accountid=10559

Giorgi, A. (2003). Phenomenology: The philosophy and the method. Workshop at the University

of Quebec, June 1-4, 2003.

Graneheim, U. H., & Lundman, B. (2003). Qualitative content analysis in nursing

research: Concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education

Today, 24, 105-112.

Harper, M., & Cole, P. (2012). Member checking: Can benefits be gained similar to group

therapy? The Qualitative Report, 17(2), 510-517.

 36

Hughes, D., & DuMont, K. (1993). Using focus groups to facilitate culturally anchored

research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 21(6), 775-806.

Kafle, N. (2011). Hermeneutic phenomenological research method simplified. Bodhi: An

Interdisciplinary Journal, 5, 181-20.

Kitzinger, J. (1996). Introducing focus groups. In N. Mayes & C. Pope

(Eds.), Qualitative research in health care (pp. 36-46). London, UK: B.M.J. Publishing

Group.

Kleiman, S. (2004). Phenomenology: To wonder the search for meanings. Nurse Researcher,

11(4), 7-19.

Kobayashi, V. B., Mol, S. T., Berkers, H. A., Kismihók, G., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2018). Text

mining in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 21(3), 733-765.

doi:10.1177/1094428117722619

Locke, L. F., Silverman, S. J., & Spirduso, W. W. (2010). Reading and understanding

research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Morgan, D. (1996). Focus groups. Annual Review Sociology, 22, 129-152.

Moustakas, C. E. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mo-Yee, L., & Greene, G. J. (1999). A social constructivist framework for integrating cross-

cultural issues in teaching clinical social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 21(1), 21-

37.

Polkinghorne, D. (1989). Phenomenological research methods. In R.S. Valle & S. Halling

(Eds.), Existential-phenomenological perspectives in psychology: Exploring the breadth

of human Experience (pp. 41-60). New York, NY: Plenum Press.

 37

Price, P. L. (2010). At the crossroads: Critical race theory and critical geographies of

race. Progress in Human Geography, 34(2), 147-174.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/10.1177/0309132509339005

Punch, K. F. (2013). Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative

approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rattani, A., & Johns, A. (2017). Collaborative partnerships and gatekeepers in online research

recruitment. The American Journal of Bioethics, 17(3), 27-29.

doi:10.1080/15265161.2016.1274800.

Rose, D. A., & Clear, T. R. (1998). Incarceration, social capital, and crime: Implications for

social disorganization theory. Criminology, 36(3), 441-479.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01255.x

Sampson, R. J., & Groves, W. B. (1989). Community Structure and Crime: Testing Social-

Disorganization Theory. The American Journal of Sociology, 94(4), 774–802.

https://doi.org/10.1086/229068

Spiegelberg, H., & Schuhmann, K. (1982). The phenomenological movement: A historical

introduction. Boston, MA: M. Nijhoff.

Szostak, R. (2015). Defining disciplinary perspective [webpage]. Retrieved

from https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/rick-szostak/research/about-

interdisciplinarity/definitions/defining-disciplinary-perspective

Thorkildsen, K., & Raholm, M. (2010). The essence of professional competence experienced by

Norwegian nurse students: A phenomenological study. Nurse Education in Practice, 10, 183-

188.
 38

van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive

pedagogy. New York, NY: State University of New York Press.

van Teijlingen, T. (2014). Semi-structured interviews [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved

from https://intranetsp.bournemouth.ac.uk/documentsrep/PGR%20Workshop%20-

%20Interviews%20Dec%202014.pdf.

Welch, K. (2007). Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling. Journal of Contemporary

Criminal Justice, 23(3), 276–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986207306870

© 2021 by ManUpPHL
39