Youths who grow up near gun violence are often haunted by thoughts and images they carry silently inside their heads.
Being able to tell their stories through photos has proven to be compelling, powerful, and healing.
Shoot This, Not That: Youth Behind the Lens, a program that provides such an outlet, opened an exhibition Wednesday at the Toledo Museum of Art.
The Shoot This program, created by Toledo’s Parks and Youth Services, is youth focused and was designed to empower at-risk teens in Toledo by placing them behind the camera.
Through photography and videography, they captured their unique perspectives on gun violence and its impact on their communities.
Avery Davis, a Rogers High School graduate and HVAC student at the Ternion Training and Education Center, said he enjoyed being a part of the inaugural program.
“This program was great,” Mr. Davis said. “It allowed me to be seen and heard. A lot of the time students and young adults are overlooked. It feels amazing to tell our stories and for people to see them and hear them. There is more to life than gun violence.”
The program was meant to foster artistic expression, encourage storytelling through visual media, and promote alternative conflict resolution strategies, said David L. Bush, commissioner of youth services for Toledo’s Parks and Youth services.
“This program had been done in Cincinnati with incarcerated adult males,” Mr. Bush said. “We knew kids were capable of telling us their stories as well. We allowed the kids to take us where they wanted to take us and to take the photos they wanted to take.”
The program was held in the summer of 2024 with five students. Mr. Bush said this year’s program will hopefully have at least 10 students involved.
“The kids had the stage to speak their profound truth,” Mr. Bush said. “Many kids in situations where there is gun violence have mental health issues in that environment. This program is a way for them to let us know how they feel.”
Audrey Johnson, development and communications coordinator for the Fair Housing Center, served as the photography facilitator for the Shoot This program.
“We were in a van, and the kids told us where to go to get pictures,” Ms. Johnson said. “They would tell us the importance of the place they were taking photos of. One young lady has a cousin murdered on Detroit Avenue. There are all of these stories, but nobody thought to see things from a child’s point of view. This project gave them a voice.”
Lydia Myrick, a graduate of the Toledo School for the Arts, earned her bachelor’s degree in visual arts and art history from the University of Toledo. Ms. Myrick is currently working on her master’s degree in art history at New York University.
“Mr. Bush asked me to be a part of the project, and I agreed because it fit perfectly into what I was already doing,” Ms. Myrick said. “I was already planning a festival for anti-gun violence and peace festival, so Mr. Bush’s project was perfect. It fit perfectly with my personal beliefs and what I was already doing.”
Ms. Myrick planned the 2024 Paint it Forward Festival and Reflections of Peace Exhibition.
The photos Ms. Myrick shot for the Shoot This series were decidedly positive, she said.
“I took photos of my grandmother’s house, the park I used to play in, and of the general area,” Ms. Myrick said. “I wanted the photos I took in South Toledo to be positive memories. I wanted the photos to show how people can make the best of a situation.”
Ms. Myrick said she remembers hearing of gun violence in her neighborhood and the surrounding area, but she did not feel personally affected by it until she was older.
“I grew up on the south side and knew of gun violence, but it felt like it was just something that happened,” she said. “As I grew older I realized what was going on. I started knowing people who were killed or whose family was affected by it. This project meant a lot because we were able to shoot photos from our own perspective."
Mr. Davis said the invitation to be one of the first five students to go into the photography program was originally sent to his brother Brysen Davis, a violence interrupter at Woodward High School.
“I stopped doing sports and got into photography over a year ago at Rogers,” Mr. Davis said. “It is something I really have always wanted to do. My brother knew I really enjoyed photography so he passed it on to me.”
Mr. Davis said he plans on working as an HVAC technician, but sooner or later would like to go to film school in New York.
“I grew up near a lot of gun violence,” Mr. Davis said. “No one in my family was involved, but it really is never too far away from you. It is common in my age group to know people who were shot and some killed. I have lost friends to it. It just hits close to home. My mom, Dawn Davis, saved my life and kept me out of trouble. TTEC has also been a blessing. It helped me figure out a career path.”
Other students involved in the exhibit include Zion Matthews, a graduate of St. Francis de Sales and current student at Norfolk State University in Virginia; Ani Purnell, a junior at Bowsher High School; and Jayden Ayala, a junior at the Maritime Academy.
The exhibition is being held in the education gallery and the little theater. It will run through April 20. A private reception will be held Friday, Mr. Bush said.
A documentary was also produced for the exhibit. It is in memory of Da’Mia Ezell, who was killed in 2022 by a single gunshot wound to her chest after the vehicle she rode in with her uncle was shot multiple times near Collingwood Boulevard and Delaware Avenue in Toledo.
Da’Mia was 10 years old at the time of her death. The documentary is also in honor of Xavier Ezell, Da’Mia’s brother.
“This program was phenomenal,” Mr. Bush said. “We allowed the kids to lead the storytelling. We also put together the documentary that came together organically. It created bonds between all of us and they now know they have the gift of storytelling.”
Ms. Myrick said she hopes those who come to see the exhibition take a lot home with them.
“I hope this project lets people know that gun violence is everywhere, not just where Black people live,” she said. “I want people who go to the museum to finally see what is happening out there. I hope they understand that there can be a solution. Everything around them is living and breathing. It is important to watch out for others, take care of the kids, and to help those who need it. Take a walk, look around you, and be compassionate.”
Those interested in joining the second program can email David.Bush@toledo.oh.gov.
First Published March 26, 2025, 7:04 p.m.
