Mensah M. Dean

2 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Mensah M. Dean

This story was originally published by the Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here. On March 29, a tall, slender male clutching a handgun ran toward a crowded basketball court. Before he had even fired a shot, surveillance footage from Philadelphia’s Finley Recreation Center shows, teens started to flee. But not everyone made it off the court in time.

3 weeks ago | gridphilly.com | Mensah M. Dean

This story was originally published by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. It is the third story in a three-part series about the roots and realities of gun violence in Black America. You can read the first installments at thetrace.org. Sign up for The Trace newsletters here.

3 weeks ago | thetrace.org | Afea Tucker |Mensah M. Dean

The Trace Zarinah Lomax’s friend, 23-year-old Penn State student Dominique Oglesby, was shot and killed in West Philadelphia weeks before she was set to graduate nearly seven years ago. The killing received plenty of media coverage, but Lomax felt it never truly reflected what was lost. That feeling inspired her to create a platform that uses fashion, music, and art to celebrate Ogleby’s life and further humanize victims of gun violence.

1 month ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Mensah M. Dean

Mar. 24, 2025 Casey O’Donnell’s nonprofit organization, Impact Services, has provided job opportunities and housing services in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood since 1974. Over the past few decades, he’s been witness to sweeping changes across the community, which is now infamous for drug trafficking, homelessness, and the violence that so often breaks out amid the chaos.

1 month ago | thetrace.org | Mensah M. Dean

The Trace Casey O’Donnell’s nonprofit organization, Impact Services, has provided job opportunities and housing services in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood since 1974. Over the past few decades, he’s been witness to sweeping changes across the community, which is now infamous for drug trafficking, homelessness, and the violence that so often breaks out amid the chaos. In past years, O’Donnell said, security cameras at his organization’s building frequently recorded murders.