From Buffalo to Everett, MA: Rampant Racism

Statement on White Supremacist Mass Shooting in Buffalo

Lawyers for Civil Rights Condemns the Buffalo Massacre and White Supremacist Terrorism

On Saturday, May 14, 2022, a white supremacist gunman murdered ten people and injured three others in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo, New York. The killer preemptively published a diatribe citing racist ideology as his motivation. At Lawyers for Civil Rights, we are heartbroken for the victims – eleven of whom were Black – and are outraged that this kind of white supremacy openly festers in the United States.

This shooting was not an isolated incident, and the gunman’s hateful ideas are increasingly moving from marginalized to mainstream. Whether the targets are Black churchgoers in Charleston, Latinx shoppers in El Paso, Asian women in Atlanta, or the latest victims in Buffalo, white supremacists continue to terrorize people of color for merely living their lives. We must decry this violence while also recognizing that it is the worst consequence of a deeper problem in our society: racial bigotry.

Massachusetts is not immune. Right now, the city of Everett is grappling with the odious racism exposed on its city council. 

As we mourn for those lost and affected in Buffalo, we must all commit to rooting out racism and hate in our communities. Each of us can contribute by marching, teaching tolerance, and demanding that elected officials take action. We must individually and collectively work to end racial violence.