“What are We Supposed to Do With All This Pain?”

“What are We Supposed to Do With All this Pain?” Community Collectively Mourns Victims of Racist Fueled Massacre

What are we supposed to do with all this anger?” cried Garnell Whitfield..."all this pain?” That was the question the former Buffalo Fire Commissioner tearfully asked during a press conference several days ago in the wake of the tragic death of his 86-year-old mother, Ruth Whitfield. She was among 10 beloved community members who were stalked and murdered in cold blood during one of the nation’s worst acts of racist domestic terrorism. It all took place last Saturday on a sunny afternoon at Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue in the heart of the Black community; the only major supermarket in what is otherwise a “food desert.” Jimmie Smith echoed Whitfield’ pain during a broadcast on CNN when he spoke on behalf of Pearl Young, the 77-year-old steadfast member of Good Samaritan Church of God in Christ Who ran a food pantry for 25 years. “We are upset, we are angry and we are hurt,” quoting scripture: “Test not My Anointed and my prophets no harm…” “Some of us are tired of marching, tired of begging, this is evil…this is wicked” he said noting the killer’s plan was to take as many Black lives as he could. “He had an agenda but we’ve had enough. Buffalo is not a weak city. We are people of faith and prayer, just like Mother Pearl Young. " The grief has been unbearable for many. The suddenness of it all. The violence. The losses compounded by the fact that their loved ones, only crime was the color of their skin. The 18-year-old racist, Payton S. Gendron, came to kill as many Black people as possible. The shock and outrage over his evil attack was only compounded by the actions of law enforcement during his arrest after the shooting. An already traumatized community looked on in disbelief as police handled the killer more like he was a petty thief, rather than having just executed and live streamed a massacre. NYS Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples, when asked by a reporter what she thought of the community’s criticism of the way the situation was handled, recalled a recent incident her own nephew recently encountered during a traffic stop. She said her nephew told her he was mortified to see him (the killer) untouched, hair and clothes in place. He said he was stopped for a traffic violation. He was slammed to the ground. And 'this guy' stood there like he stole a loaf of bread. “So that does bring hurt to people because we experience this racist way services are delivered to us on a regular basis," said Peopes-Stokes. " So there's’ a lot room for hurt here. Not just for the loss of the families and what they’re going through; the fact is that racism is real and there’s still a lot of people who don’t want to admit that it’s real.” Most felt that unlike Gendron, a Black shooter would not have survived the attack by law enforcement. -Speaking Truth to Power To a person, almost every community member interviewed by local and national news media, spoke up and spoke out. Articulate and on point, they did not mince words and kept it real. The news outlets in general were balanced in their reporting. A May 16 New York Times report is a perfect example. Kudos to all those who were interviewed:

The suspect in the massacre, Payton S. Gendron, 18, embraced White supremacist ideas in a 180-page document posted online before the attack and named his top goal as killing as many Black people as possible, the authorities said. Mr. Gendron pleaded not guilty on Saturday night. In the document, he said he would travel hours to Buffalo from the Southern Tier of New York. And while he wrote that he hoped for the toll to be much larger, the damage inflicted was immense. “People are going to try to excuse it as this person not being from Buffalo — they’ll say things like ‘This is not who we are,’” said J. Coley, a Ph.D. student and instructor in the

Columnist/Activist Betty Jean Grant With President And Mrs . Biden.

President Joe Biden supports repeal of Tiahrt Amendment!

By Betty Jean Grant

The President Of The United States, Joe Biden and First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, travelled to Buffalo to spend time with and offer their condolences, support and sympathy to the families of the 10 citizens who were gunned down at the Tops Market on Jefferson Ave, Saturday, May 14th. This writer was granted an opportunity to speak with President Biden and I used that time to ask him if he would work with Congress to get the Tiahrt Amendment repealed. As most of you know, getting the amendment repealed was the life mission of the late Neal Dobbins. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden assured me that they support the repeal of the law and will work with those in Congress to address it's repeal. For those not yet informed, The Tiahrt Amendment was introduced to Congress by Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas and was passed into law in 2003. What the law does is that require the federal government to destroy the names of all approved gun purchasers within 24 hours. The law also prohibits ATF from requiring gun dealers to submit their inventories to law enforcement agencies. In addition, the amendment makes it harder for citizens to sue gun manufacturers when they flood an area with too many guns such as AR -15s and other non hunting and people killing weapons. I spoke to the president to help represent MVP and the fervent dream of Neal Dobbins. President Biden asked one of his special agent to get my name, phone number and email address. Rest In Peace, Neal Dobbins, our own special, Mr. MVP! Your dream and vision have caught the ear of the presiden-

University at Buffalo’s sociology department. “I just want to be clear that this is exactly who Buffalo is. It doesn’t matter that we have a Black mayor. This is still a place of anti-Black racism.” Buffalo has been marked by severe segregation for decades, offering an extreme example of the plight that Black people in many deeply divided urban centers have suffered. In 1991, one analysis found the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area was the fourth-most segregated in the United States; a study published two decades later found it ranked as the nation’s sixth-most segregated. We hope to provide a more complete update next week as well as photos by Darvin Adams and Street Legacy! Please pray for the families during this dificult and painful time. As a token of our love and support, obituaries of the innocent lives that were lost will be published at no charge. They can be emailed to editorial@thechallengernews.com or mailed to: The Challenger 1337 Jefferson Ave. Buffalo 14208,

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