Racism and racial disparities in firearm violence: A scoping review

Firearm violence (i.e., interpersonal, police firearm violence) disproportionately affects racially minoritized communities. Researchers recently shifted their focus from race to racism to better understand the factors that contribute to racial disparities in firearm violence. Considering the emerging evidence base, we conducted a scoping review of published literature to: (1) summarize the quality of evidence in studies of racism and firearm violence, (2) identify key findings, and (3) prioritize steps for future research. A search for articles published between 1990 and 2025 across seven databases was conducted utilizing key terms. Of the 39 studies identified, 34 examined associations between racism and interpersonal firearm violence, and 5 examined associations between racism and police firearm violence. Residential racial segregation, historical redlining, racialized economic segregation, racial inequalities in socioeconomic outcomes, and other novel measures of racism (e.g., historical enslavement rate, the killing of George Floyd) were identified as risk factors for firearm violence. The majority of studies utilized cross-sectional data, and a few studies examined mediators and moderators. Five future research priorities were identified, including: (1) developing a theoretical framework for the study of racism and racial disparities in firearm violence, (2) testing mechanisms between the relation between racism and firearm violence, (3) identifying protective factors, (4) applying a developmental perspective, and (5) improving data surveillance systems for firearm violence.