Just a heads up, this episode contains references to violence, including domestic violence and sexual assault.

All right, on to the show.

Hey everyone, you're listening to Code Switch. I'm B.A. Parker.

And I'm Gene Dumbie.

Gene, I know you and I talk a lot about the ways that race and gender interact to shape how people behave in the world.

And I've been thinking about that a lot these past few weeks because of some of the really heavy events that have unfolded.

So I know you've heard about the recent tragedy in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Yeah, Parker, I did.

So a man there shot and killed eight children.

He also shot two women.

Both of whom survived.

Seven of those kids who he killed, though, were his children.

And one of the women he shot was his fiancé.

Right, and it's one in a series of startling incidents in the past month.

Like at the beginning of April, Justin Fairfax, the former lieutenant governor of Virginia,

shot and killed his wife and himself.

Just this week, charges were brought against the popular TikTok singer David

for the murder of a teenage girl, as well as continuous sexual abuse of a child

younger than 14, and the unlawful mutilation of human remains. And honestly, the list goes on,

but we have to stop here for a lot of reasons. It's worth pointing out that all the perpetrators

in these incidents were black men,

and they were reportedly dealing with mental health issues.

...