This Is Why It Matters

George Washington Carver High School students (from left to right) Kennis Fairley, Marneisha Gilmore and Jacorey Warner are the student journalists and producers of "This Is Why It Matters."
Credit Cheryl Gerber / WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

New Orleans has one of the highest murder rates in the country, and research shows more than half of the young people in this city have lost someone to homicide - most often to gun violence. Students at George Washington Carver High School are no exception, and they have stories to tell - not just about the trauma of losing someone - but about the lives of the people they've lost. Together with WWNO education reporter Jess Clark and radio producer Eve Abrams, a group of Carver students produced the series '"This Is Why It Matters" for WWNO.

'We Still Feel Like Kids': Where There Is Violence, There Is Also Healing, Community And Hope

By Jess Clark & • Nov 13, 2019
George Washington Carver High School students Kennis Fairley (left), Marneisha Gilmore and Jacorey Warner.
Cheryl Gerber / WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Over the last four weeks, WWNO has brought listeners our series "This Is Why It Matters" - stories about people our community has lost to gun violence.

‘He Was Like A Real Brother To Me’: Remembering Deshaun Singleton

By Jess Clark & & Marneisha Gilmore • Nov 6, 2019
Jacorey Warner [left] is interviewed by his friend and classmate Marneisha Gilmore about his friend Deshaun Singleton.
Cheryl Gerber / WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Our student-produced series “This Is Why It Matters” is about the people our community has lost to gun violence.

‘Why I Am The Way I Am’: Teachers And The Emotional Toll Of Losing Students To Violence

By Jess Clark & & Kennis Fairley • Oct 30, 2019
Carver junior Kennis Fairley and drama teacher Ateja Lewis.
Cheryl Gerber / WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Our student-produced series “This Is Why It Matters” is about the lives of people our community has lost to gun violence. One thing students at George Washington Carver High School discovered in their reporting is that students aren’t the only people at school struggling with grief - many Carver teachers are grappling with the emotional toll of having lost students to homicide. Some teachers are also survivors of their own trauma.

'That's Where Her Spirit Went': Remembering Markeisha Gilmore

By Jess Clark & & Marneisha Gilmore • Oct 23, 2019
Carver junior Marneisha Gilmore with the cut-out of her sister Markeisha Gilmore.
Cheryl Gerber / WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Our student-produced series "This Is Why It Matters" is mostly about the people our community has lost to gun violence. But one of our student producers, George Washington Carver High School junior Marneisha Gilmore, has a story that's a little different.

Marneisha's older sister, Markeisha Gilmore, was 18 years old when she died in an accident in January 2019. Markeisha loved to dance and listen to music. She had graduated from McDonogh 35 Senior High School, and was studying nursing at Louisiana State University.

'He Cared About Others First': Remembering Jawan Bradley

By Jess Clark & • Oct 16, 2019
Shawanda Warren, Natasha Warren, Loghan Greenwood, Tammy Bradley and Kawanda Warren pose with photos of Bug at their home in New Orleans.
Cheryl Gerber / WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

New Orleans has one of the highest murder rates in the country, and research shows more than half of the young people in this city have lost someone to homicide - most often to gun violence. Students at George Washington Carver High School are no exception, and they have stories to tell - not just about the trauma of losing someone - but about the lives of the people they've lost. Together with WWNO education reporter Jess Clark and radio producer Eve Abrams, a group of Carver students produced the series '"This Is Why It Matters" for WWNO.