Unpaid Debts and Gun Violence: Septa’s G Bus Shooting Incident

Ogbonna Hagins: Philly Word Magazine and Freedmen’s Journal 2.0 ©

The tragic shooting on the G-route bus in South Philadelphia, where three women were shot over a fare dispute, paints a devastating picture of how close violence lurks in the everyday lives of people in this city.

This incident comes as no surprise to those of us living in Philadelphia’s hardest-hit neighborhoods, where gunfire and trauma have become daily realities. As someone who lost a father to gun violence when I was only two, I know all too well the lasting scars these incidents leave on families. The emotional burden is immeasurable, and the struggle to find peace after such tragedies is lifelong.

Shortly after the shooting, an anonymous SEPTA driver posted a chilling message: Let those people do what they’re going to do. That farebox doesn’t belong to you, and neither do the contents therein.

This sentiment highlights a major problem: bus drivers, like so many others, are placed in dangerous situations that escalate far too often over something as trivial as fare. When a request for payment can result in gunfire, we need to rethink how we handle public safety, especially for those tasked with serving the public.

In response to the rising violence, Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration created new safety roles, including appointing Adam Geer as Chief Public Safety Director. His role oversees federal grants aimed at violence prevention,yet his efforts and responsibilities are notably absent from the *Roadmap to Safer Communities*—

a key study that cites structural racism as the root cause of gun violence. This omission begs the question: are these roles and initiatives making any real difference in the fight against crime?

The federal violence prevention grants Geer manages have not yielded significant results, as seen with similar programs nationwide. Initiatives like Cure Violence, which have been touted as public health approaches to reduce gun violence, have produced mixed outcomes at best.

In some cities, they resulted in only minor reductions in crime,while in others, violence persisted at similar levels. These programs fail to tackle the underlying issues driving violence, particularly the economic inequities and structural racism faced by American Freedmen communities.

The Philadelphia Reparations Coalition recently proposed a solution: Free Sector Service, advocating for free bus fares as a small step toward addressing the inequities experienced by American Freedmen.

They argue that fare-free transit could help reduce tensions and stress in these communities, removing one of the many daily obstacles that can lead to violent confrontations like tonight’s shooting. However, this isn’t about charity—it’s about fulfilling promises made under the 13th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

These legislative acts promised absolute equality to American Freedmen, and if the wealth gap between Freedmen and white Americans persists, it is the federal government’s responsibility to make things right. These reparations aren’t just about money but about rectifying centuries of inequality.

Providing fare-free services in cities like Philadelphia, where poverty, unemployment, and violence disproportionately affect Freedmen, would be a meaningful way to address the systemic issues highlighted in the *Roadmap to Safer Communities*.

The current safety initiatives, while well-intentioned, fail to address the root causes of violence, leaving American Freedmen communities stuck in a cycle of trauma and inequality. Until large-scale investments are made to uplift these neighborhoods—investments that were promised generations ago—we will continue to see incidents like tonight’s,

where lives are shattered over something as simple as a bus fare. It’s time for our elected officials to wake up and deliver on the promises made under the 13th Amendment. Only then can we hope for real change.