Buffalo Equity Coalition, community leaders gather for healing and action

Community partners and education activists instead gathered to talk about racial and economic justice and held a “healing circle” to spread comfort for a traumatized East Side community.

Samuel L. Radford III of the Buffalo Equity Coalition, Dia Bryant of the New York Education Trust, state Sen. Tim Kennedy and past and current leaders of the Buffalo Urban League were among those who vowed to take action against white supremacy and racism on a number of levels, including in schools.

“We had already planned to talk about the racial trauma that has impacted our education system and all the disparities that existed that prior to this incident,” Urban League President Thomas Beauford said.

“So now we have this recent horrific incident that plagued our city compound the trauma. And when the cameras go and when the people who heard about it and flew in fly back out, the organizations that are here will try to provide a healing process for all the pre-existing trauma, this horrific incident and the way forward,” he said.

Kennedy sparked applause and cheers from about 50 people in attendance when he called for “a conversation about race and history and about the hate and evil being perpetrated on our country and our communities since before the inception of this country.”

“It’s a conversation about 400 years of white supremacy,” he said, “and how that was manifested in an attack on our community here in Buffalo and on Black America.”

He urged support for a bill recently passed by the state Senate to create a state Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice “that would ensure that every piece of policy in New York is examined through the lens of racial justice.”

He also described a personal connection to the shooting. His director of diversity and inclusion, Zeneta Everhart, is the mother of the shooter’s first victim, Zaire Goodman, 20, who was shot in the neck and survived.

Calling Goodman “divinely protected,” Kennedy said, “Maybe this is the moment that God put us all here – to make a difference and to use this attack that happened in Buffalo to effect change.”

Beauford said the Urban League was already focused on addressing educational inequities with services such as preparatory assistance for Black and brown candidates who want to take an upcoming civil service exam for Buffalo firefighter positions, “but have not been adequately prepared by the education system.”

Bryant, of the Education Trust, and Wendy Mistretta of the District Parent Coordinating Council said they are working to ensure access to Advanced Placement courses for all high school students, regardless of privilege.

“We want to make sure that every child who is capable of taking an AP class has access and that there are no artificial limits – because they are artificial – on what our kids can achieve,” Mistretta said.

Radford said those efforts are important, but Saturday’s rampage shows that education also needs to counter damaging propaganda such as the white supremacist conspiracy theories that authorities say fueled the gunman to travel 200 miles to Buffalo to kill Black people.

“Education had a huge part to play in what took place here – or the lack thereof – and our nation is having a battle about whether we are going to teach the truth in our classrooms,” he said.

After the meeting, Dina Thompson of Erie County Restorative Justice led a healing circle for the leaders and area youth to breathe, meditate, pray and comfort each other. Thompson said her organization will provide healing circles for the East Side Cold Spring community at the Johnnie B. Wiley Pavilion in Buffalo this coming Sunday, May 22, at 5 p.m. and on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, May 23, 24 and 27 at 6 p.m. All are welcome.

Dottie Gallagher, president and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, said the regional chamber of commerce has also recast its upcoming board meeting Tuesday because of the racist mass shooting.

“We have eliminated our agenda but for one thing, to have people from the community come and talk to our business leaders about what they need from us,” she said.