Front Burner - After the attack, a Black community in Buffalo grieves

Episode Date: May 18, 2022

On Saturday, a white gunman drove to the only supermarket in a predominantly Black area on the east side of Buffalo, N.Y. He shot 13 people — 11 Black, two white. Ten people died. Law enforcement officials have labelled the massacre a racially motivated hate crime. Many of those killed were pillars of a tight-knit community shaped by decades of segregation. Today on Front Burner, we talk to former Erie County legislator and former Buffalo city councillor, Betty Jean Grant, about how community members are trying to support one another through their grief and horror.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Jamie Poisson. White supremacy is a poison. It's a poison. Running through, it really is.

Running through our body politic. And it's been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes. No more. I mean, no more. Yesterday, President Joe Biden addressed a crowd in Buffalo, New York, the site of one of the deadliest racist massacres in recent American history. The gunman drove to the city from his home in Conklin, New York, more than 300 kilometers away. He went to the only supermarket in a predominantly black area of Buffalo's east side. He shot 13 people, 11 black, 2 white, 10 died. Many were pillars of a tight-knit community of segregation. Law enforcement officials have labeled Saturday's massacre a racially motivated

hate crime. And the 18-year-old suspect, a self-confessed white supremacist, did a number of things that have become almost commonplace in such attacks. He reportedly live-streamed the shooting on the gaming platform Twitch. A 180-page document attributed to him, which was posted online moments before the attack, talks about how he was influenced by what he saw in the hate-filled forum 4chan, including a video of the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. And it also makes repeated references to the Great Replacement, a racist conspiracy theory that claims that a cabal is trying to replace white Americans and their influence with non-white immigrants. This last point in particular is attracting a lot of attention

because in the past few years, the Great Replacement Theory has been moving from the far-right fringes to the American mainstream. A recent poll found that one in three Americans now believes that a group of people is trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants in order to win elections. Some Republican politicians have found themselves under scrutiny for having promoted versions of this idea.

And so has Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who according to a New York Times analysis, has amplified the theory more than 400 times on his show. Demographic change is the key to the Democratic Party's political ambitions. In other words, you're being replaced and there's nothing you can do about it. So shut up! On Monday, Carlson appeared to try to distance himself and Fox from the shooter and his alleged document. A rambling pastiche of slogans and internet memes,

some of which flatly contradict one another. The document is not recognizably left-wing or right-wing. It's not really political at all. Today, though, as that broader political conversation continues, we wanted you to hear from a community leader in East Buffalo, where neighbors are trying to support one another through their grief and horror in the aftermath of this massacre. Betty Jean Grant is a former Erie County legislator and a former Buffalo City Councilor, and Jean. First, I want to say thank you so much for making the time to speak with us

and also that I'm so sorry for your losses and for what your community is going through right now. Thank you so much. We appreciate that. We're still in a state of shock and we're slowly coming to grips that this was not a bad dream or a nightmare. It really actually happened here in Buffalo, New York. I understand that you attended President Biden's speech today. And did you hear what you were hoping to hear from the president? Yeah, I heard what I hoped to hear, but I wanted to hear more about these assault rifles and how they're wreaking havoc all across the world, especially in the United States. And so I did hear some of that, but I also had a conversation with him. I

was able to meet him and I told him that we in Buffalo wanted him to work with Congress to repeal the T-heart amendment. That was passed, I think in 2004, 2005. But what it does, it gives gun dealers more ways of hiring the purchase of these assault rifles. After 48 hours, you can't find out unless you're in law enforcement who bought these guns. And he said that he's willing to work with Congress. And I said, are you sure? I said, I'm going to hold you to your word. And he said, yes, I'm willing to work. And so I think he was really sincere. And I'm certainly going to contact the White House tomorrow and make sure that what he said here in Buffalo really is going to happen. I'm glad that you were able to make those connections. I wonder if you can

talk to me a little bit about the victims so I understand you actually knew a number of the people who were shot on Saturday which to me seems like such an indication of just how tight knit this community is can you tell me which of the victims

you knew and how you knew them yes and like you knew them? Yes. And like you said, it's a tight-knit community. You know, it's a medium-sized city, but for the African-American community, because we are mostly Protestants and we mostly shop and have our cultural activities at the same place, everybody really knows everybody else. really knows everybody else. I knew about six of those who were either shot or killed. And my first notice of who it was that I knew was Kat Massey. Kat Massey was a very involved community activist. She founded a block club, Cherry Street Block Club. And how I met her was I was working for a council member and Kat came into her office in City Hall, Buffalo City Hall, and she needed help with some black club issues.

So we were talking and I found that she and I had the same interest in advocating for those who either could not advocate for themselves, didn't know how to, or were afraid to. And so we kind of connected on that note. And maybe about 2015, when I founded a group called We Are Women Warriors, Kat was one of the first members to reach out and say, hey, I want to join a group. And so we advocate for those women who might be single parent family, who are struggling, who are teenage son, who might need some additional support and help.

And so she helped me with that. And so Kat was a very, very in love with her community. She fought for issues of gentrification. She felt that as Buffalo was being reborn and renaissance was happening, she didn't want people of color and those who were poor to be left behind or lose a home because they could not afford the faded rent. And I'm going to miss Kat. I really am. So I talked to the council member of her district, the Ellicott District, and we're going to have temporary honorary signs on the street of Cherry Street that say this is Kat Macy Way. She sounds like a tremendous person.

I wonder if you could tell me about who else you knew. I knew Aaron Salter. Aaron was a police person. I wonder if you could tell me about who else you knew. I knew Aaron Salter. Aaron was a police officer. I knew him for a long time. He's been retired for several years. He's been a beloved member and employee of Topps here working security. And he went down fighting. He came in, he went towards the gunfire, he went towards the fight. He shot the individual, but because of his armor plating vest, it had no effect on him. And unfortunately, the suspect returned fire and he succumbed to his injuries. And like I said, he was a beloved member. His mom used to be, she passed.

She was general manager of the only black- owned radio station here in the city of Buffalo. His aunt, who was a friend of mine, was a community activist. And Aaron kind of inherited some of that activism and some of that compassion for people, I think, from his mom especially. So I knew Aaron well. I also knew Mrs. Pearl, Pearl Young. So I knew Ms. Pearl Young through her son, who was my grandchildren's track and field coach. And just like Kat Massey, she was a community person. She was active in her church, active in the community. And to see that she lived to be 86 years old and then to be mowed down, you know, going to the store to prepare for Sunday's dinner, it just uncalled for.

I knew as well Mrs. Ruth Whitfield through her son, Garnell Whitfield, who was Buffalo First African-American Commissioner of Fire. Very nice family. African-American commissioner of fire. Very nice family. Ms. Ruth Phil, who married so many years, had a husband in a nursing home, and she would come every single day to take care of him. I don't think they've told him yet that she has passed. I hate to say killed, but that's what it is. I talked to Garneau this morning briefly before I met President Biden,

and he said that his father, you know father is asking, where is my wife? Where's my wife? So, so many people that died that I knew I had a connection to. And the young kid who survived, that young 20-year-old African-American youth was shot in the neck and pretend to be dead. That's how he was able to save his life because the guy who killed, was killing people, shot Ms. Pearl Young as she was lying on the floor gasping for breath. So Zaire Goodman, that young kid, knew and was smart enough to know that he had to pretend to be dead. He was shot through the neck, fully passed through.

He fell, but he stayed there. He didn't try to run after he had to pretend to be dead. He was shot through the neck, fully passed through. He fell, but he stayed there. He didn't try to run after he had fallen. And had he done that, he probably would have been dead right now. I can't imagine what that must have been like for him and for all the people who are in that supermarket. You know, Betty Jean, listening to you talk about these wonderful people and their family,

do you mind if I ask you how you're doing right now coping with the losses of your friends and community members? Well, I haven't had the chance to truly, truly grieve because when I found out of a cat, because my daughter lives about three minutes from Tom's Market. And I would say that market meant a lot to me because when we wanted to have a supermarket, at that time, there was no supermarket on the east side of Buffalo where most African-Americans lived. Well, when I was a council member, we advocated. We had seven minority on the Buffalo Common Council. We had a majority of Black on the Buffalo Common Council.

So we made sure we make use of that by advocating for a supermarket for this area, a library, and a telecommunications building. We got all three on Jefferson Avenue. We got all three on Jefferson Avenue. And so when they had a dedication in that supermarket, I was there as an elected official that had approved, voted for it, designated the site and approved the money for it. So I have a special pride in that Topps supermarket. And I've shopped there since it opened in the early 2000, 2003, 2004. And so when I heard from my friend of mine that they was going to shoot in that Topps Market and there were numerous people dead, I just took off and went down there.

It took about three minutes to get there to find out if they knew anybody who had been shot. Of course, at that time, they had their parameters all sealed off and I didn't find out anything. And so I stayed there a couple of hours. And then about 8 p.m. that night I went back to Topps Market and I said,

has anybody found out who the victims were? And the lady said, so you knew Kat Massey, right? So when she said you knew, do you know Kat Massey? She said, you knew Kat Massey, right? I said, oh please, oh please, don't tell me Kat was one of the victims. Don't, please don't tell me that. I kind of lost

it for a moment. Then I pulled myself together and said, you know what? I have to go to her family. I know where Kat lives on Cherry Street. And so I drove, I drove there and I, on the way there, I was kept saying to myself, you know what? It could be a mistake. I didn't want to say she was no longer with us. And so I was saying and praying all the way there. But when I turned that corner off Michigan Avenue and went up Cherry Street and got close to the house and I saw about 20 cars, I knew. I knew then that she was naked. And so I went inside and offered my kudos to her brother and her sister and other family members. And I have been really moving since then. I've had many people, you know, calling me and wanting interviews.

So I really have not had time to grieve. So I know it's going to hit me. It's going to hit me real soon because Kat was like family. She was like family. And that's what I got to say about Buffalo. I don't know about other areas or other ethnic groups, but in Buffalo, African-Americans tend to band together, stick there's strength in numbers. So we remain very close. And right now, I just left a top supermarket now. And everywhere you go in every street corner, they're giving away food and stuff.

And that's good. It's good to get the food. But we really need to get some serious dialogue going about what happened here and what happened at Mother Emanuel Church when that Dylann Roof went to a church, prayed with senior citizens and killed nine of them. A white gunman stormed into a Bible study at Emanuel AME, a historically black church that has remained in the heart of Charleston's restaurant and entertainment district. Nine church members died right before God, another wounded.

I do believe this was a hate crime. And so we have to find out what can we do to ensure that the sickness that has overtaken some people and their need to reign supreme and to be dominant over anybody and everybody, we have to do something about that. And I think it's going to have to start in everybody's household. You can't legislate morality. You can't legislate people to be fair and equitable. You have to really life-changing connection.

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that dialogue to be like right now. The shooter in this week's act of terrorism reportedly posted an explicitly white supremacist manifesto online before the attack. He also called himself a white supremacist. Tell me more about what you think needs to happen now.

I think what needs to happen is parents need to know their children is walking around or carrying around AR-15. I think their parents need to know that their children are on Facebook or any social media spewing racial hatred. That's not their doctrine. That's not how they raise their children. They need to have a serious conversation. And I think his parents, they were not race-hating,

spewing individuals. They were very well-educated, a professional, lived in a very nice neighborhood. Mr., I forgot his name, Peyton, whatever his last name is, he didn't have to suffer for anything when he was growing up

based on his family's background, his worth, and the house he was living in. But yet instead, he comes to the poorest area of Buffalo, where you have the poorest segment of society, living, struggling, going day to day.

People here, where that top market is, they don't get paid on a Friday, they don't eat on a Saturday. To sit there and come here to this impoverished neighborhood, not to bring hope, not to bring resources, but to bring death, destruction, hatred, is mind-boggling.

I was born in the racist South. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, near Memphis, Tennessee. My uncle, my great uncle was lynched in 1937. He was lynched because he was going with a fair-skinned Africanrican-american lady who the deputy sheriff thought was white and so he was arrested he was lynched by the kkk and yet still with that personal record of somebody lynching my great uncle because who he was dating and because

color his skin i never developed a hatred i have more reason to hate white folks than this Peyton Gundren ever had to hate Black folks. This guy is killing people because he doesn't want Black folks to be thriving, surviving anywhere. That's why I can't wrap my mind around. How are people in your neighborhood right now grappling with the fact that this is, this has come to their doorstep? They are angry. Their angry feeling about is that why was he not dealt with like a Black person? If he had been Black, he probably would have been shot, killed. He probably would have been shot, killed. Why was he treated so respectfully?

I think you're referring to when police arrived on scene, they reportedly talked the shooter down after he was pointing his gun at himself. They arrested him alive. Yes. Yeah. You know what? I'm glad he is, because I think he should be arrested to serve his time.

So I don't share the same sentiment that they should have shot him, killed him, they would have, black man. Maybe they would have killed a black man. Maybe they would not. But we know that when black people are arrested through

known history of what has happened with George Floyd and other people who have been detained and might have been being murdered whereas a white person fighting with a police officer wound up being handcuffed or he gets away because the police doesn't shoot when he starts running down the road so that is causing a lot of anger they feel that you know after you know being over here for hundreds of years, the African-American individual and being part of society and being part of inclusion, supposedly, that still they have to fight like they did during the Jim Crow era.

And then our young people who wasn't born in the South and who never was exposed to the pure blatant hatred and racism that African American Blacks was exposed to in the South, these children are perplexed. It's seen that there's been a shift of racist beliefs that have been under the table or are very quiet and not open. Our young children are finally realizing that those stories of lynchings and beatings and being discriminated against and not being able to go to the hospital if you were sick, not being able to swim in a swimming pool or go to a park or a library, those were true stories. It wasn't something somebody had made up to entertain somebody.

It actually happened. These children are slowly learning that they are hated for the color of their skin. How do you speak to them about that? You know, how do you try to offer them some hope, or do you speak to them about that? You know, how do you try to offer them some hope or do you? I don't teach and I don't preach. What I do is show. And I am involved in the movement to have everybody have equality. And that includes immigrants and those who are gay or transgender or bisexual,

I try to show that I judge people about how they treat me, how they treat my community, and what they do. And I try to show them who I should have some animosity because of how my ancestor was treated and how I was treated because I went to an all-Black school until I graduated. I tried to show them that you don't judge people because of something they can't change and they were not responsible for it.

Nobody is responsible for being white themselves. That's just nature and who your parents hook up with. And nobody's responsible for being Black. That's how you were you know came into being you know you mentioned before that the community's handing out food baskets and before we go today i wonder if you could tell me how else the community might be supporting one another through this really devastating moment so we've been telling people to be calm,

you know, let the law enforcement do what it needs to do. Let's stay together, stay in tune. And that's one way I think that it was smart for them to start giving up the food, to start having prayer vigils because that way give people a chance to vent and a chance to come to term without picking up a Molotov cocktail or picking up

a gun or a knife and go out there and shoot somebody or burn up our own community. Betty Jean, I really, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. And again, I'm so sorry for your loss and for everything that your community is grappling with right now. Thank you. I appreciate that. And we just got to keep this message out that we have to love because we're here on this earth and nobody's going anywhere. Nobody's going back to Africa. Nobody's going back to Europe.

We are here to stay and find some way of getting along. Better find a way of working out, working together, and getting along. All right, that is all for today. I'm Jamie Poisson. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you tomorrow.