Southern Roots: How Youth Violence Became a Public Health Menace

This paper explores how the Atlanta Missing and Murdered Children cases (1979-1981) fundamentally shaped the emergence of violence epidemiology as a scientific discipline in public health. Through oral histories with victims' families, public health officials, and law enforcement, alongside archival research, this study examines the CDC's unprecedented application of epidemiological methods to investigate patterns of youth violence. While this approach established new frameworks for violence prevention, it also reinforced racialized perceptions of violence in Black communities, ultimately influencing public health policies that emphasized surveillance over structural solutions. By analyzing this pivotal moment, this research illuminates how public health methodologies both transformed approaches to violence prevention and shaped lasting institutional responses to youth violence in urban communities.