MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thursday was the inaugural meeting of the 901 Brothers Sisters Keeper gun club, the second chapter of the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA)
Bennie Cobb, a gun safety expert and former sheriff's deputy, is leading the charge as the president of the chapter. Cobb said this group will focus on gun safety, safe gun storage, community engagement and self-defense.
“If you look around the room, we have an overwhelming turnout of African American people that want to know about gun safety," Cobb said. "They want to dispel the stereotype that Black people don’t know anything about guns, that we’re violent when we have guns."
The group is seeking solutions to the violent crime crisis in Memphis and across the U.S.
“We’re talking about psychologically thinking of what your next move is going to be," Cobb said. "I tell my grandkids, when we’re driving down the street, if somebody is having a rolling gun battle, get out of seat belts and get on the floor. Bullets are flying everywhere, so you have to prepare yourself tactically; we are in a warfare here.”
This type of education is one 16-year-old Madison Boyd, who attended Thursday's meeting, said she wants to see her peers take advantage of.
“Basic gun training...we're not supposed to have a gun at this age, but we need to know what to do with the guns in order for us to live," Boyd said.
This group is also raising awareness about a multi-part ballot question on gun control measures to apply within the city of Memphis. It will be voted on in the November election and would set aside the state's open-carry and no-permit gun laws, ban assault weapons and increase regulations for the storage of firearms in vehicles.