Black girls in LA keep seeing women around them getting killed. They’re driving change

Black women and girls represent an outsized share of LA homicide victims – frustrated with police and legislators’ failures, they’re stepping up and speaking out to stop the violence As a child, Tioni Theus was a ball of energy. After school she liked to play golf and dance. On weekends, she’d go to the movies and the mall with her older cousin. Driving back home at the end of the day to her family’s apartment in South Los Angeles, California, she’d ask: “What are we doing next?” Everything changed when Tioni was 13. Her mother was hit by a car and critically injured, leaving her unable to take care of her daughter. While her mom recovered, Tioni lived with other family members. But the accident left Tioni angry, her older cousin Nafeesah Kincy said, and she struggled to understand that her life had permanently changed. Continue reading...

Abené Clayton in Los Angeles with photographs by Julien James · Wed, Nov 11, 2026, 3:01 PM
California | The Guardian

Black women and girls represent an outsized share of LA homicide victims – frustrated with police and legislators’ failures, they’re stepping up and speaking out to stop the violence

As a child, Tioni Theus was a ball of energy. After school she liked to play golf and dance. On weekends, she’d go to the movies and the mall with her older cousin. Driving back home at the end of the day to her family’s apartment in South Los Angeles, California, she’d ask: “What are we doing next?”

Everything changed when Tioni was 13. Her mother was hit by a car and critically injured, leaving her unable to take care of her daughter. While her mom recovered, Tioni lived with other family members. But the accident left Tioni angry, her older cousin Nafeesah Kincy said, and she struggled to understand that her life had permanently changed.

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