On Second Thought For Monday, July 17, 2017

Gun violence, Trudy Nan Boyce, and comics

A report released last month provides a grim picture on the effects of gun violence on children. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found nearly 1,300 children in the United States die in shootings each year. That makes gunshot wounds the third leading cause of death for children up to the age of 17. We talk with Atlanta-based trauma surgeon Omar Danner, who worked on a separate report about the victims of gun violence admitted to Grady Hospital. We also hear from George Lee, the project manager of the End Gun Violence: Step Forward initiative in Savannah.

Then, author and former Atlanta Police Officer Trudy Nan Boyce published her first novel, "Out of the Blues," last year. That story follows the detective work of Sarah Alt--a.k.a “Salt”--as she investigates often gruesome crimes in the Atlanta area. The book earned her a Georgia Author of the Year Award earlier this year, as well as the Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction. The second installment of Detective Salt’s story, called "Old Bones," follows the fictional shooting of students at Spelman College. We talk to author Trudy Nan Boyce.

Finally, we talk with Carlton and Darris Hargo, two comic book publishers in Atlanta. They are working to develop more superheroes of color. They discuss their latest comic called “Moses,” which draws connections between the African slave trade and an alien abduction.