May 17, 2022

Statement on the racist massacre in Buffalo, NY

Issued by the National Comrades of Color Caucus of Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party

We are outraged at the murders of 10 Black people in Buffalo, NY, who were simply out grocery shopping when they were savagely gunned down by a teenage white supremacist. It is no accident that the majority of the slain were also women. Just two springs ago, a young white man turned his hostility and his gun on Asian women at Atlanta spas. Race and gender go hand in hand for these murderous bigots.

Teens are being groomed into fascists. The Buffalo shooter was driven by the “poor me, they’re gonna take over white America” a.k.a. “great replacement” theory, popular not only among the far-right fringe but promoted in the highest echelons of U.S. government. These same lawmakers, and their shock troop followers, are crusading to turn back the clock on voting as well as reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.

The lives of those who perished at the Tops Friendly market cannot be brought back. But demands can be made to provide restitution to the families of the victims and the Black community collectively traumatized by the massacre. Ultimately, steps must be taken to get to the root of white supremacy and racist violence.

Let us mourn. Let us organize. Let us arm ourselves with lessons of history. Fascist poisoning of young minds must end. Racist, sexist, anti-Semitic killings must end. As Guerry Hoddersen says in her article “The high price of ignoring teenage fascists,” collective action is the solution. Justice for the victims of the Buffalo massacre!

Read the full article by Guerry Hoddersen originally published in 1999.