The effects of community violence on African American youth, May 2017

This paper investigates published literature that describes the effects of community violence on African American youth. Community violence is found to originate from the history of African Americans migrating from the rural South to northern urban cities. Because of the mass influx of African Americans in northern urban cities, White American migrated out of the urban cities, and with them, jobs, economic prosperity and resources left as well. Community violence is found to be a result of the lack in resources, economic opportunities and prosperity that was once seen in the communities when White Americans were present. A review of the literature indicates that there are possible negative outcomes for African American youth exposed to community violence such as mental health issues, PTSD, depression and aggression. This paper examines the implications for social work, which include the need for direct practice Social workers to collaborate with organizations and communities._x000D_