Katherine Massey, 72 years old. Roberta Drury, 32 years old. Ruth Whitfield, 86 years old. Celestine Chaney, 65 years old. Pearly Young, 77 years old. Andre Mackniel, 53 years old. Margus D Morrison, 52 years old. Aaron Salter Jr., 55 years old. Gerri Chapman Talley, 62 years old. And Heyward Patterson, 67 years old.
A white man drove nearly 200 miles, sought out a Black neighbourhood in Buffalo, New York and killed these ten Black people this Saturday, also shooting and injuring 3 others – one of whom is Black.
We could talk about the white supremacist “great replacement theory” he believed in. Or about the politicians and pundits on both sides of the border who serve as arsonists of hate. Or about social media networks. Or about gun control. Or even about mental health.
But today, only two days since 10 Black lives were stolen, we are choosing to sit with the grief, the fear, the anger, and even the hopelessness many Black people might be feeling right now. Today, we’re sending a message of solidarity to Black people in Buffalo, and to Black people everywhere. Today, we’re reminding ourselves that these moments of unimaginable violence don’t just happen “over there” – just remember the Quebec City mosque attack, or the London, Ontario attack.
The work isn’t over. We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again today, and we hope we’ll never have to say it another time: we have to recommit to ending anti-Black racism in all its forms everywhere, once and for all.
