A Newark Teacher’s Fight Against Gun Violence Is Shaped by the Students He Lost
A prominent Newark high school teacher who has buried multiple children has spoken out against gun violence. According to Weequahic High School history teacher Bashir Akinyele, official crime stats don’t often reflect the personal cost to families, classrooms, and towns
City managers report a 19% decline in crime and Newark’s lowest murder rate ever. While those numbers reflect progress, a series of horrific shootings at the end of the year reminded people that the problem endures. A 10-year-old was shot and killed, shocking the community and highlighting endemic violence.
Gun violence impacts Akinyele personally. He believes more than 50 of his former students were killed throughout his teaching career. Each loss is memorable, he says. Dear buddy and former classmate Hamza Abdul Haq died lately. Akinyele accompanied him to cultural and political events and discussed life, faith, and history for years. Hamza was shot and killed weeks after visiting Akinyele at home.
Another student, Masi Rogers, was shot on Chancellor Avenue. Akinyele taught Masi and his brother years earlier. Masi died from hospital injuries after fighting for his life. Akinyele says the news brought back memories of many other classmates he lost, prolonging his agony.
Events like these inspired Akinyele to act outside the classroom. After watching children and community members killed, he joined Mayor Ras Baraka’s grassroots gun violence campaign, which formed the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition. As activists took their message to the streets, the informal effort became visible and relentless.
The group made its first significant step when Weequahic mother Nikisha Allen was killed in a 2009 firefight. A nearby preschool was shot, forcing teachers and children to hide. Citywide protests continued for years after that day’s shock. The group challenged local leaders on enforcement, accountability, and education, especially the Amistad Law, which requires schools to emphasize African American history and contributions.
Despite his pain, Akinyele thinks Newark has improved. Since the mid-2000s, when the city had over 100 homicides, killings have dropped dramatically. 32 murders in a year is terrible, but it demonstrates unprecedented growth.
The city’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, which brought activists, social workers, and mental health professionals together to reduce violence, helped that progress. He believes traumatized populations need prevention and rehabilitation.
Being a teacher, activist, and grief mentor is hard. Faith helps Akinyele cope. He copes with sadness by praying daily as a Muslim. You discover an empty desk in a classroom following gun violence.
Akinyele wants to teach history in his final years to help students understand themselves and the world. He believes students in a city still healing from decades of violence must address false narratives and acknowledge Black contributions to society as he nears retirement.
He thinks gun violence prevention requires education, recollection, and accountability. Statistics may measure success, but classrooms and neighborhoods measure it in lives saved, futures protected, and names not added to the growing list of lost.
Sources:
Newark Police Department
Office of the Mayor of Newark
Newark Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery
