Leslie Harris and Erin Parcell work side by side within the Department of Communication at UW-Milwaukee. But it’s not just teaching that brings the two together. They connect on a deeper level due to their shared dedication to gun violence awareness in Milwaukee. It’s led to a project that’s making an impact on campus and in the greater community.
A ripple effect of awareness
Their project Voices of Gun Violence is a stirring online archive of audio clips and interviews with people personally affected by gun violence. The raw memories and emotional reflections put a face on those reeling from tragedy and give the greater public new perspectives on the depth of its impact.
“Through the project we’ve found that gun violence doesn’t just affect people directly connected with these incidents. Entire communities are impacted,” Harris said. “And gun violence reverberates for decades in a visceral way.”
The online archive features 80-plus interviews and transcripts, with audio editing done in collaboration with Portia Cobb, professor in UWM’s Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres. Each recording is like a mini documentary.
The stories come to life in other ways, too. A play called “Milwaukee Voices of Gun Violence: Resolute, Resilient, Revolutionary” premiered at the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival in 2022, produced by Sheri Williams Pannell, who is an associate professor of theatre at UWM. Now, plans are in motion to write a book.
Shared passion and purpose
Harris has long been involved in gun violence awareness through volunteer work with the nonprofit advocacy group Moms Demand Action. That’s where she met Debra Gillispie, whose son Kirk was a victim of gun violence in 2003. Parcell later joined the duo.
“As a social scientist, I’ve been doing surveys and interviews a long time and was at the point of wanting to build a bridge between qualitative research and community,” Parcell said. “The Voices of Gun Violence mission came together organically. We all had an interest in family, and our own experiences being women and moms.”
They split duties to keep the project moving: Harris works on grant writing and fundraising, while Parcell handles transcripts, scheduling and management. Gillispie has community connections, so she contacts and speaks with interviewees. Several UWM students also have contributed to the project, from transcribing stories to fine-tuning audio tracks.
The goal is to humanize the victims and broaden the narrative. “Experiences of gun violence get shaped by media reports that can be harmful, or victims’ experiences aren’t treated as worthy of compassion,” Harris said. “We want to change that.”
Harris and Parcell have found that focusing on personal experiences has a unique impact that’s different than passing legislation or increasing policing: People who’ve experienced gun violence become empowered advocates.
“The more that those who hold institutional power start seeing victims as experts, as opposed to people that need to be helped, the closer we are to solving the problem,” Harris said.
