Project Unloaded has Chicago teens using social media to tackle gun violence
CHICAGO (CBS) — Teens are turning to social media to help reduce gun violence as a possible solution in Chicago while sending a message to their peers.
Fifty CPS students split up into three groups. They pitched social media campaigns that connect with their peers and spark conversations about the real consequences of guns. One, 16-year-old Ladanna Wimberly, said she's lost friends due to gun violence.
"It really is hurtful. But at the end of the day, you got to tell your family there's no need to pick up another gun. Just accept it. Picking up a gun isn't going to do anything. It's just going to hurt somebody else and hurt you more," Wimberly said.
During the six-week program, teens learned the facts of how having a gun leads to more gun violence, not less.
The groups displayed their pitches through PowerPoint presentations. Some recited poems while others performed a dance piece.
But only one team could win, and that was "The City Just Kills." One of the judges, rapper Ta'Rhonda Jones, said she would put them in her next music video.
The video made by the winning group will be posted on Project Unloaded's national campaign, an organization that studies teen gun violence.
"We want to meet young people where they are, and for so many of them, they are spending their time on social media platforms, and that's where they're going for information about guns in many cases in many cases," said Nina Vinik, Project Unloaded's Founder and President.