Hate and Heartbreak in Buffalo

On Saturday, May 14, a white 18-year-old drove to a supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., and killed ten people in a racist attack. The gunman was alone, and reporting has revealed that he allegedly posted a manifesto with racist theories and his plans to kill Black people online. 

Law enforcement officials and the media often describe these kinds of perpetrator as lone wolves. But the work of white supremacy is never lonely. It’s propagated by social media, cable television pundits, and even politicians. 

And in the wake of this recent extremism, the Black community in Buffalo is left trying to survive the grieve. 

“There are no words. There are no solutions. There is no consolation. The community’s reeling. Somebody walked into a grocery store and shot up a bunch of our grannies and aunties,” says India Walton, a community leader and former mayoral candidate in Buffalo. India speaks with Trymaine Lee about the shooting, the structural racism and white violence in Buffalo that has kept Black residents segregated and vulnerable, and how she will continue to fight for her community. 

For a transcript, please visit msnbc.com/intoamerica. 

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Further Reading and Viewing:

• Biden calls Buffalo shooting ‘terrorism,’ says ‘white supremacy is a poison’
• The Buffalo shooting is part of a global network of white nationalist terror