PROGRESS Teach-In Event: Uniting Community Members, Faculty, & Students Around Gun Violence Prevention Research 

April 15th, 2025

The Prevent Gun Violence: Research, Empowerment, Strategies & Solutions (PROGRESS) initiative held a teach-in at the University of Maryland as a way to bring together students, staff, and community-based organizations.  This event provided an open forum for concerned members of the UMD community to voice their concerns. The event also displayed student artwork symbolically depicting gun violence from the 2023 Sadat Art for Justice and Peace Competition.

Below were some topics discussed:

• What is the best way for students to get involved in the Gun Violence Prevention Movement and research?
• What is the biggest gap that students, faculty and community organizations face between gun violence research and the public?
• What are groups doing on and off campus?
• How is gun violence interconnected with various research disciplines (i.e. Education, Health, Family Science, Criminology, etc.)?

PROGRESS would like to thank and uplift the organizations that took the time to speak at the event:

• Black Health Research Lab
• Enough of Gun Violence
• Guns Down Friday
• Moms Demand Action
• UMD Students Demand Action
• UMD Violence Reduction Center
• Unlocked Project
• Young Chances Foundation
   

Representatives of the UMD chapter of Students Demand Action.	PROGRESS Co-Directors Richardson (left) and Kessel (right) deliver opening remarks at the Teach-In.
Dr. Richardson (middle) with PROGRESS volunteers and research assistants.	Display by the Black Health Research Lab.
Artwork (provided courtesy of UMD's Sadat Chair): Neverending (2023) Mary Mena.	Dr. Kessel speaks with a representative of the Violence Reduction Center.