BUFFALO, N.Y. — A year ago Sunday, Buffalo came face to face with an unimaginable tragedy.
Facing losses brought on by white supremacy, one year later, the message is that hate didn’t win; love and resilience did.
“Ten beautiful angels," said New York State Attorney General Letitia James. "Their spirit is in this room.”
Voices lifted high, singing to those lost on May 14, 2022.
“We had to deal with some hate. Someone who thought it was OK to come into our city and kill our people," said Rev. Rachelle Robinson of New Covenant United Church of Christ. "Guess what? One year later we’re like, 'What?! You ain’t winning.' Love won.”
A community’s strength was on display at Elim Christian Fellowship against violence and racism.
“You've got to know something about the African American experience to understand what we’ve been through," said James. "You’ve got to know the miles we’ve walked, you've got to know about our legacy, our history, and all that we've been through, and then you'll praise him, and then you'll dance, and then you’ll sing.”
This service was not defined through speakers' words by death and tragedy, but by triumph.
“God, I squeeze my neighbor's hands because life has tried to squeeze the breath out of them," said Rev. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia. "And yet they're still standing.”
That’s not to say that hole left in Buffalo’s heart doesn’t still ache.
“I saw within the aisles of the groceries, a family, they were sobbing," described Gov. Kathy Hochul, speaking about her experience earlier that same day. "I walked over and started hugging instinctively. And the sobs within the sobs, I heard the words, 'I miss my mom. I want my mom here.' ”
But out of sadness comes strength. Neighbors lifted each other up, working toward a better future.
As many see it, though, there’s more work to be done. There have been more than 650 mass shootings in the U.S. in the 365 days since Buffalo’s.
“It's not getting better. It's getting worse," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. "But love conquers hate, and so all of us in this community have redoubled our efforts to lift our voices, to be active, to say enough is enough.”
It's efforts like these that many hope will make sure May 14 won’t be forgotten, the white supremacy that fueled that hatred won’t be forgotten, and the will of people to carry on won’t be forgotten.
“Because of your presence here today, it gives evidence that we will not be denied or erased," preached Bryant. "That this city finds itself in the spirit of a phoenix, to rise up from the ashes and to speak that though you write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, still like dust, Buffalo will rise.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James did reference the lawsuit filed against social media platforms and gun manufacturers last week. She said she supports the victims’ families on this, and that the companies should be held accountable for the tragedy.
