Month: May 2023

For Immediate Release

May 12, 2023

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Remembers Victims of Buffalo Mass Shooting

BUFFALO – The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative today remembered the victims of the racist massacre at a TOPS Grocery Store in Buffalo, New York on May 15, 2022. Payton Gendron, just 19-years-old at the time, killed 10 people after targeting the predominantly Black neighborhood. Members of the Collaborative – which includes members from Florida (Faith in Florida), Georgia (the New Georgia Project), Louisiana (the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice), Mississippi (Southern Echo), and Tennessee (Memphis Artists for Change) – released the following statement:

“The continued gun violence in America has become an epidemic,” said Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida. “No one is safe.  Our families and children are no longer safe in schools, universities, malls, movie theaters, and grocery stores.  Many lawmakers choose to ignore or not address the safety of all Americans. I am unsure what more it would take for this matter to be resolved. My prayers and thoughts go out to the residents of Buffalo, New York.”

“We continue to send our condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the victims’ families,” said Kendra Cotton, executive director of the New Georgia Project. “No amount of time will erase the injustice of the brazen, racist attack. My hope is that the Buffalo community, and our nation in general, will experience a level of healing that includes accountability for domestic terrorists like Gendron, resources for the impacted community, and infrastructure investments which would aid Buffalo in moving forward.”

“One of the things this horrific mass shooting has taught us is that words have weight and bring consequences,” said Ashley K. Shelton, founder and president of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice. “For years, the far right has peddled lies and racist conspiracy theories that have created an environment where Americans are fearful of their neighbors, particularly those who are Black and brown. Payton Gendron believe in replacement theory which was promoted by many conservative news hosts as well as by former President Trump. One aspect of justice is holding accountable people who profit and promote hatred and lies.”

“Our communities are tired of being hyper-vigilant in response to one instance after another of Black trauma and pain,” said Nsombi Lambright, executive director of Southern Echo. “We will continue organizing and resisting injustice in all its forms.”

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For Immediate Release

May 12, 2023

BALTIMORE – This Mother’s Day, many will celebrate with breakfast in bed, brunch at upscale restaurants, fresh flowers, much-anticipated gifts and hugs from loved ones. While these things have their place, Sabrina N’Diaye will be doing something different. For over 30 years, she has worked as a therapist. For the past 12 years, she has worked with communities in the throes of natural disasters. More recently – since 2016 – she has been in communities across the nation respond to mass shootings. She was in Florida following the Stoneman Douglass High School shooting, and so many other mass shootings, including the one in Buffalo at a TOPS Grocery Store on May 14, 2022.  In total, 10 people were killed after Payton Gendron, a 19-year-old white man, targeted the predominantly Black neighborhood. 

Sabrina understands that when a traumatic event happens to one, it happens to all.

“There is an immediate physiological response to the loss that touches us all because when one human being is murdered, all of humanity is impacted,” N’Diaye said. “In Buffalo, this was a senseless massacre, and everyone lost including the perpetrator. But people across the country are forgetting and becoming immune to something so horrific. We should never become immune to the mass killing of innocent people. We should never become immune to a young person walking into a space and saying, ‘I’m going to kill all the Black people.’ The fact that we are witnessing a society that loves guns more than humans is alarming.”

N’Diaye serves trauma-impacted communities who are navigating mass shootings. Along with Dena Adler and Carol Penn, N’Diaye launched Embracing Buffalo at the Western New York Peace Center. She is also a senior faculty member and supervisor at the Center for Mind/Body Medicine, and faculty member at the School for Continuing Education at the University of Buffalo. In this capacity, N’Diaye, Penn and Adler teach communities how to process traumatic events and move forward. The trio is heading back to Buffalo on May 12 (and will be there through Sunday, the 14th) for the remembrance of the grocery story massacre.

When asked why she was going back, N’Diaye shared, “I am going to help the servants; the people who serve others yet are rarely offered an opportunity to heal. This is important because unhealed trauma manifests as inflammation, high blood pressure, diabetes, over-eating, depression and more. A part of what we’re doing is helping people heal from the event, but also bringing people back into relationship with one another. We’re also doing preventative medicine by teaching people that they matter. We’re teaching people who have had this horrific experience how to bring their bodies back into balance.”

N’Diaye understands that the people serving survivors are already under-resourced. Her goal is to teach community members how to heal from trauma. She is also raising money to support an overnight retreat for those in Buffalo who have been serving victims’ families and serving the community since the mass shooting.

For more information, contact press@spotlightpr.org.

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