New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday unveiled the design for a memorial to the 10 African Americans killed in Buffalo on May 14, 2022, victims of a racist mass shooting.
The incident happened at the Tops supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood on Buffalo's east side two years ago.
A man who identified as a white supremacist and “great replacement” conspiracy theorist used an illegally modified semi-automatic rifle to shoot and kill 10 Black residents and wound three others as they went about their Saturday afternoon grocery shopping.
Payton Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the massacre, pleaded guilty to murder, domestic terrorism and hate crimes. He is serving life in prison without the possibly of parole.
The incident spurred changes in New York’s gun laws, including banning most semi-automatic weapon sales to people younger than 21, and outlawing some types of body armor.
New York also strengthened its red flag laws, which allow a judge to temporarily confiscate weapons from someone who might be a danger to themselves or others.
But Monday’s event was about the victims. The memorial design consists of 10 interconnected pillars, each bearing the name of someone killed in the mass shooting.
Called “Seeing Us," it is designed by artists Jin Young Song and Douglass Alligood.
Hochul, who was born and raised in Buffalo, said it’s a powerful statement that evokes strong emotions.
“But it just hit me really hard again. It just hit me hard,” Hochul said. “And I really want this to be a place that people will come to. It is their place, but others will learn about the terrorism that lurks among us. This was domestic terrorism, raw domestic terrorism.”
Hochul said she’s committed to continuing the fight for racial justice and hopes that the memorial can help achieve that.
Garnell Whitfield is a former Buffalo fire department commissioner whose mother, Ruth Whitfield, was the oldest victim of the shooting. She died at the age of 86.
"Let's be very clear that it's not going to bring my mother back," Whitfield said of the memorial. "It's not going to take the place of our loved ones. It's not going to undo all of the damage that's been done in our community generationally.
"But it does represent hope for a better day," he said. "It does represent the planting of a seed within this community that will hopefully bear fruit that future generations will not have to go through what we went through, what our loved ones went through."
The memorial eventually is to include a new building for community events. New York state is contributing $5 million, and the city of Buffalo is giving $1 million.
But they said more money will be needed before they can break ground on the project. A newly appointed commission will soon embark on a yearlong fundraising campaign to raise the remaining funds necessary to break ground.
