CINCINNATI — Gun violence is now the center of a public health crisis after the U.S. surgeon general made the declaration Tuesday. The announcement is trickling down to one Ohio community standing up against gun violence with art.

What You Need To Know

  • Based on the 'Black Lives Matter' mural in downtown Cincinnati, standing letters of the mural are going up in neighborhoods across the city 

  • The 'A' in Black Lives Matter was revealed in the Avondale neighborhood Tuesday as a direct call to end gun violence 

  • Artist and gun violence survivors helped work on and reveal the art in hopes it will send a message to the community

Jue Amman still has the scars after what happened to her almost 20 years ago.

“I believe the scars were left to remind me of my significance and my purpose,” said Amman. “I am a gun violence survivor…in 2005, I was shot seven times,”

Since the shooting that nearly killed her, she made it her mission to do something about gun violence.

“When you’re focused on positivity and looking to intentionally inspire others, so much beauty comes from that,” said Amman.

She’s trying to inspire others through art. 

She’s one of the artists who helped create the standing letter “A” in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood.

Based on the painted street mural downtown, the standing letter is the second part of what will spell out ‘Black Lives Matter’ in neighborhoods across the city. It’s a direct call to end gun violence.

The revealing comes on the same day that surgeon general designated gun violence as a public health crisis.

With Cincinnati’s mayor, Aftab Pureval on hand, he says this is the latest in a series of steps to end gun violence.

“The Biden Administration has really prioritized gun violence prevention, passing the safer communities act, the biggest gun violence reform in a generation. They’ve created a gun violence office within the white house and then obviously the announcement today from the surgeon general, so all of those opportunities create new streams of revenue for the city to innovate and invest real dollars in our community,” said Pureval.

He says the art revealed Tuesday is a start to an investment in art and artists trying to make a change.

The artists have plans to continue putting up letters, 14 more across the city, as a reminder of the lives lost and to those who survived and are standing up against gun violence.

“Every day that I wake up, I know that I still have purpose, not only to tell my story, but to inspire others to let them know that they matter, that they’re seen, they’re valued,” said Amman.

While cities like Cincinnati fight back, the surgeon general outlined proposed prevention strategies and polices to curb gun violence. You can find those here.