On 5/14 our community was senselessly targeted by a racist white supremacist. In the aftermath of the massacre at TOPS on Jefferson Ave, ten community members were brutally slain, three community members were seriously injured, and the entire community was left traumatized. Now, to add insult to that injury, local politicians and legislators want to force our community to again enter a place that no amount of deep cleaning or re-modeling can restore. Many in our community DO NOT ever want to step foot inside of that place. More importantly, most have expressed a desire to have a memorial constructed on that site for the community to visit and pay their respects to the murdered, the injured, and the traumatized. Would you please join me in affixing your name, signature, and contact information on this petition so that we can begin the work to repair the hurt and harm and start the healing process.  

Community Members, Supporters and Advocates:

I am respectfully requesting that you please take just a moment to review the petition in regard to the traumatic, dismissive and insensitive way in which our community has been and continues to be treated by TOPS and elected officials (National, State and local). Although the narrative is that our community "wants" TOPS to reopen, myself and countless others DO NOT WANT IT OPENED, and almost universally agree that it is MUCH TOO SOON TO BE REOPENING A WOUND that has yet to heal or even scab over!

Many are still in a state of shock, some fearful, confused, angered and/or traumatized by the racist massacre and all are fearful that they'll have NO PLACE locally to shop, bank, pay bills or socialize; NOT that they want THAT store to reopen. We are painfully conscious that NOTHING has changed EXCEPT the loss of 10 valued, loved and respected community members, the attempted murder of 3 additional community members and staff and a community still grieving, mourning and trying to process the racist, murderous attack?! Yet, we are supposed to go back into a refurbished TOPS that should actually change its' name to "TARGET" because that is exactly what its' reopening represents to our community that was already targeted because there was ONLY ONE such store.

We are well aware of the essential need for a store of that caliber in that community especially given that it continues to suffer from Food Apartheid as well as a lack of many other important resources that to date have not been addressed?!? No plans for any additional stores, no deserving, dignified and respectful memorial and of course, NO tangible plan(s) for moving forward that the actual COMMUNITY has direct input. That is why we respectfully request that the reopening of TOPS on Jefferson at the very least be delayed while the community continues to heal and then can be an integral part of the process going forward.

Significantly, in addition to those who sign online, please know that people who LIVE in the area, some of whom were in the store at the time of the racist massacre have personally signed this Petition effort and DON'T want to be forced to accept the reopening because there are NO OTHER CHOICES being explored and/or executed!!!

Although the racist murderer has been apprehended the real killer, racism, remains at large and is partly manifested in this rush to inflict more pain, fear, trauma and disrespect on our already reeling community. We can no longer be complicit with those who just want to return to normal because there's a new normal and that's that we demand to be respected and treated like everyone else; with dignity, respect and compassion.

Respectfully submitted:

Jerome R. Wright

"The 'status quo' has got to go, we're not going for it NO MORE"

                                    Yes, I said it