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Arts & Entertainment

Gun Violence Inspires Short Film Series

Students and community activists gathered at LaunchPad to watch documentaries about gun violence.

A bullet is blind.

That was the message of Thurday night's short film screening and discussion on gun violence in the neighborhood.

Almost 30 residents, students and organizers squeezed into LaunchPad on Franklin Avenue, a narrow renovated storefront space, and watched short documentaries addressing gun violence that ranged from poignant to informative.

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"A Harlem Mother" documented the story of a woman who became a vocal activist after losing her son. "Halt" depicted how arms find their way to New York – a state with tighter gun laws – by passing through states like Georgia and South Carolina, where the laws are less strict.

Attending the event were the parents of Benny Lyde, a young man who was shot by a schoolmate. They appeared in one of the shorts and addressed the audience about the message of  "not snitching, but ditching" peer pressure around using guns and staying quiet about crimes. The documentary was part of a national media project called Beyond Bullets.

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The event was a collaboration of Save Our Streets, Kings County Cinema Society, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, American Friends Service Committee, Downtown Community Television and LaunchPad.

Save Our Streets is a Crown Heights-based campaign to end gun violence that will hold a fish fry Friday, Nov. 19, to raise awareness about their programming and how to get involved. It will be held at First Church of God in Christ on Kingston Avenue and Park Place.

There have been 66 known shootings in northern Crown Heights since January.

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