We need more than words to fight the intolerance and hatred that is festering within our society

BY PAUL JUNOR

The racist rampaging at Tops supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday, May 14^th, 2022, which resulted in the death of ten Black residents and the wounding of three prompted an international outpouring of condemnation and grief.  The names of the victims include:

1.Ruth E. Whitfield – 86-year-old grandmother, mother of 4 children cared for her husband

2. Pearl Young – 77-year-old substitute teacher and pillar of the community, mother of two
3. Katherine Massey – 72-year-old community activist who campaign against gun violence
4. Heyward Patterson – 67-year-old taxi driver as a father of 3 involved in the community
5. Celestine Chaney – 65-year-old grandmother of 6 noted as a loving and caring person
6. Geraldine Chapman Talley – 62-year-old baker who was a mother of 2 children
7. Aaron Salter – 55-year-old former Buffalo police lieutenant worked as a security guard
8. Andre Mackniel – 53-year-old father of 4 daughters and 1 son was born in Buffalo
9. Margus D. Morrison – 52-year-old school bus aide who was a father of three children
10. Roberta A. Druxy – 32-year-old female who ran a business with her brother

There were additional details reported about these victims including the fact that Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed that $2.8 million would go towards the victims and their families and a GoFundMe had been set up.

Dewitt Lee, Co-founder at Emancipation Month, Creative director at LEAP Branding and community activist in Toronto was instrumental in organizing through Canadians in Toronto and @6ixmayor the foundation for the #Buffalonewyork memorial for the victims. T Shirts are now available for pay what you can. They would like to donate $7.16 from every sale to the families. Transactions can be made through email transfer to BuffaLOVE.newyork@gmail.com.

Nadine Spencer, CEO of The Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) wrote an email to its members titled, “The Decay Underneath the Buffalo Mass Shooting.”

She writes, “There have been positive and emotive responses in the aftermath of the Buffalo shooting-people paying tribute to our fallen brothers and sisters and the family and friends they have left behind, calling for gun control, and speaking out against white supremacy and racism in general.

However, we need more than words to fight the intolerance and hatred that is festering within our society. What we need is targeted, collaborative action – a concerted effort to equip our community with the tools needed to educate others about diversity and inclusion to ferret out avowed White supremacists and other racists who are being radicalized to violence, and most importantly, to begin the slow but essential  process of overcoming  the widespread systemic racism that creates social inequities and feeds the more overt bigotry and hate driving this violence.”

Funds can be donated to: https://www.gofundme.com/buffalo-survivorors-fund.