Under the baobab: Sick and tired after racist attack at Buffalo supermarket
“We are sick and tired of being sick and tired.” — Fannie Lou Hamer, freedom fighter.
On May 14 around two in the afternoon, an 18-year-old white supremacist sociopath invited some people to join him in a chatroom on the web. Thirty minutes later, around 2:30 p.m., authorities said he approached the Tops supermarket in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. He wore body armor and a military grade helmet with a camera. It allowed him to livestream his attack on social media, which he did for over two minutes until it was ended by the online platform.
He was carrying a Bushmaster X-15 rifle that had been illegally modified to accept a magazine that held 30 rounds. (In New York State the legal limit is ten rounds.) On the rifle the N-word was reportedly written and the names of fellow white supremacists and mass murderers Dylann Roof, Robert Bowers, Brenton Tarrant and John Earnest, and the acronym SYGAOWN (Stop Your Genocide Against Our White Nations).
Authorities say he shot four people in the parking lot. Three of them died. Entering the store he shot eight more people. Six of those died. He was specifically looking to kill Black people. At one point, the white supremacist pointed his gun at somebody crouching behind the checkout counter. Seeing that the victim was white he apologized and let him go.
We are sick and tired…
The white supremacist teenager had started planning in January. He was from Conklin, 200 miles away. He targeted Buffalo because it had many Black residents. He had visited the store several times, etching out floor plans of the store’s layout. He chose Tops over a church or an elementary school because the store would attract many more people at its peak times. He planned more attacks after Tops.
…of being sick and tired.
Ten people were killed. All were African Americans: Roberta A. Drury, 32, was described by her friends as full of life, caring, and happy; Margus D. Morrison, 52, had worked as a bus aid for First Students for four years. He loved his job; Andre Macknell, 53, was at the store to buy his 3-year-old a birthday cake; Aaron Salter, 55, was a retired police officer who tackled the killer and saved people’s lives; Geraldine Talley, 62, had just learned she was about to become a first-time grandmother; Celestine Chaney, 65, was a cancer survivor who had six grandchildren and one great grandchild; Heyward Patterson, 67, was a Deacon in his church Katherine Massey, 72, used to write for the Buffalo News; Pearly Young, 77, for 25 years, ran a food pantry in the neighborhood. She was described as a mother, grandmother and a missionary. She made legendary mac n’ cheese; Ruth Whitfield, 86 was the mother of a former Buffalo Fire Commissioner. Three more people were wounded in the slaughter.
Those of us who have grown more sick and tired gathered in Martin Luther King Plaza last Wednesday to mourn these murdered brothers and sisters. It was organized by Ferguson Township Supervisor Tierra Williams and her co-director of the 3/20 Coalition, Melanie Morrison. They read the names and showed pictures of these recent victims of the pervasive white supremacy infecting our nation. Pastor Paul McReynolds of Albrecht Bethune led the gathering in a prayer. Terry Watson, head of Community and Campus in Unity (CCU) made a few poignant remarks. Libations were poured and candles were lit and placed at the memorial in the plaza. Pastor Dan Dorsey of Calvary Baptist Church and co-leader of Racial Unity Network (RUN) led informal prayers.
On the day before, voting in the primaries, we tried to select leaders who can lead our country through this swamp of hate and destruction, hopefully.
“The journey has been long. We are so tired.” -Maranatha.
This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 7:00 AM.