Ongoing Threat: Two Years After Buffalo Massacre, Hate Crimes Against Black Communities Persist

Img source: nbcnews.com

May 15, 2024 Story by: Publisher

(NNPA) – As the nation marks the second anniversary of the tragic Buffalo mass shooting that took the lives of 10 Black individuals at a Tops supermarket , it becomes clear that hate crimes targeting Black communities remain a persistent issue, overshadowing efforts for justice and equality.

“It was a modern-day lynching,” stated Garnell Whitfield Jr., son of victim Ruth Whitfield, about the May 14, 2022, hate-fueled massacre. “I’ll always carry the scar of 5/14 and what happened to my mother. So, I don’t expect to be healed,” Whitfield shared in a televised interview. “I know that’s something everybody talks about. I think that’s kind of an unrealistic expectation.”

In addition to Ruth Whitfield, 86, the victims included Roberta Drury, 32; retired Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter Jr., 55; Heyward Patterson, 67; Pearl Young, 77; Geraldine Talley, 62; Celestine Chaney, 65; Black Press journalist Katherine “Kat” Massey, 7 2; Margus Morrison, 52; and Andre Mackniel, 53.

The nation was deeply affected by these racist murders, carried out by self-proclaimed white supremacist Payton Gendron. Despite promises for change, recent FBI data shows a troubling trend: from 2020 to 2022, Black individuals were the target in over half of the reported hate crimes nationwide.

The statistics are alarming. Hate crimes against Black youth have been steadily increasing over the past three years. Incidents such as the Dollar General store tragedy in Jacksonville and the Walmart shooting in Beavercreek, Ohio, highlight the ongoing threats faced by the Black community.

According to an ABC News analysis of the latest FBI data, more than 8,500 hate crimes were reported nationwide between 2020 and 2022, with African Americans being targeted in 52.3% of these offenses. The data revealed a rise from 2,217 to 3,421 incidents between 2021 and 2022, indicating that Black individuals are four times more likely to be targeted than the overall U.S. non-Hispanic Black population.

Hate crimes against Black individuals under 18 increased by 10% in 2020, 12% in 2021, and 14.6% in 2022, according to the data.

Additionally, research from Columbia University underscores the significant impact of structural racism on health outcomes, particularly mental health. The Psychiatric Epidemiology Training (PET) Program at Columbia revealed compelling evidence linking systemic racial biases to disparities in diagnoses, particularly in conditions such as depression and schizophrenia.

Under the direction of Professor Katherine Keyes, the Columbia findings highlighted how structural racism affects various aspects of society, influencing access to healthcare, housing, nutrition, and societal norms, all contributing to divergent health outcomes.

Legislative measures such as the Emmett Till Antilynching Law were intended to curb racial violence. However, with no charges filed under the law to date, its effectiveness is questioned. While justice was achieved in the Ahmaud Arbery case, where perpetrators were convicted on state and federal hate crime charges, such victories are rare.

In Buffalo, the quest for justice against the perpetrator has yielded mixed results. Gendron, sentenced to life in prison, awaits the federal death penalty. Meanwhile, the indictment of social media companies for their role in his radicalization reveals a complex legal landscape where accountability is difficult to achieve.

The lawsuit, led by the victims' families, accuses social media platforms of facilitating Gendron’s radicalization. Despite denials from companies like Twitch and Google, the battle for accountability continues amid rising concerns over online radicalization.

Initiatives like the planned unveiling of the “Unity” monument at Tops Supermarket offer solace but cannot erase the pain of loss. For Whitfield and others, the scars of May 14 are a constant reminder that justice delayed is justice denied.

“So, 5/14 may be significant for some,” Whitfield reflects. “But it’s no more significant on 5/14 than it is on 5/13 or 5/12, or today. I have to live the rest of my life without my mother and with what happened to her.”