As crimes against Black women and girls increased around her, Arewa Karen Winters said she decided she needed protection.
Although the 15th District police councilwomen had held her FOID card for 20 years, she decided it was time to get her concealed carry license. Owning a firearm was not an easy decision for Winters but she felt it was necessary.
Now, she’s working as part of a club with other women to learn about how to better protect themselves and to use and handle firearms safely through Soul Sista Shooting Club, a nationally recognized shooting club for Black Women with members in Illinois, Mississippi and Texas.
Soul Sista Shooting Club launched last September with confounding member Erisene Jefferson, a brand ambassador and instructor in training.
Winters shared what owning a firearm is like for her.
“I struggle with it because I’m terrified of guns but at the same time, I’m also terrified of what can happen to me just being in my community without one,” Winters said. “We’re single women moving through the South and West Side communities so it’s just a matter of safety,” Winters explained.
For Black women, protecting their own lives is existential. Research shows that the West Side communities last year reported the most robberies in the city. A CBS2 analysis of police data also showed that in 2022, Black women were the victims in 35% of city assaults, 38% of batteries and 50% of human-trafficking cases but make up only 16% of the city’s population. As for why those women are victims, Geneva Brown, a professor of criminology at DePaul University pointed out in a story published by The Root that Black women in some cases have to work late night shifts and are out at times when there’s not a lot of police presence, such as at bus stops or on the L.
Jefferson, who obtained her concealed carry license in 2020, said she has gained a sense of empowerment and safety.
“Some people look at guns as a bad thing but the gun itself is not the problem, it’s the people that have the guns,” Jefferson said. “As a concealed carry holder, we hope that we never have to use it but if the time arises, we’re prepared to use it. I started out fearful of guns but the more you grow and develop, you become more efficient in handling it.”
Winters and Jefferson obtained their shooting instructions from Aban Advantage Consulting, a consulting business founded by Chief Instructor Eric Becton, which primarily provides firearms safety and training, individual and institutional security development and emergency preparedness.
Becton, who has nearly three decades of firearms instruction and multiple nationally recognized instructor’s certifications said when you deal with firearms training, what you’re really dealing with is self-defense.
“A FOID card is not required to take the concealed carry class, however, you should know that you are in good standing with the law and don’t have anything that would disqualify you from having a FOID card because if you’re not eligible for a FOID card, you would not be eligible for a conceal carry license as the state of Illinois is currently structured,” Becton explained.
Soul Sista Shooting Club aims to provide an environment of nurturing sisterhood, but it also aims to help women develop the art of handling handguns. Full wrap-around services, such as additional online courses, image-based training, medical training, emergency preparedness and total engagement of critical self-defense are offered as part of Aban’s services that the club members receive being part of Aban.
Pamela Jenkins of Oak Park said she obtained her concealed carry license and joined the club because she wanted to overcome her fear of guns and be prepared if she ever had to use it.
Both Becton and Winters cautioned that it’s not enough to just go out and purchase a firearm. They stressed getting the proper training and the basic fundamental things you should know, even how to carry it on your person and how to interface with the police if you’re pulled over while carrying your firearm so that you can safely come out of that police engagement.
For class costs and other information, contact Becton at Aban Advantage.com or at 804-453-2226.