Buffalo, where the first funeral is being held today for the victims of Saturday’s massacre, when an 18-year-old white supremacist opened fire on a grocery store in the heart of Buffalo’s Black community. The gunman shot dead 10 people, all African American. Today’s funeral is for 68-year-old Heyward Patterson. He was a deacon at the Tabernacle Church of God, known for giving rides to people who needed to shop at Tops, where Saturday’s attack took place.
The community has come together. Buffalo really is a place of resilience, of deep community, of mutual aid. We’ve seen, time and time again, when tragedies happen, and even on a day-to-day, we take care of each other. So, the outpouring of support from agencies and individuals, from all over other municipalities, localities and all over the country and world, has really been overwhelming.
My question is: What happens when the cameras leave? How do we continue to support people who have been negatively impacted? I walked around the neighborhood yesterday and talked to folks who were just out sitting on their porches and walking through the streets, who were saying that, you know, they didn’t want to go back into that store. I talked to a young man whose mother shopped in that Tops, who hasn’t left the house since the incident happened. So we really have to make sure that the support is long-lasting and that we have our eye toward the systemic change that has to occur in east Buffalo and for Black people in this community.
— source democracynow.org | May 20, 2022