PLEASE SEE MY UPDATE!

This petition is a request for the 1275 Jefferson address to become the future site of a memorial park. This address is the site where a mass shooting occurred on Saturday, May 14th 2022 resulting in multiple shoppers being murdered. These murders took place at a grocery store that took decades of begging to build in an area already impoverished and designated as a "Food Desert". 

     Those whose lives were stolen are security guard Aaron Salter, Roberta Drury, Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Celestine Chaney, Heyward Patterson, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackniel, Geraldine Talley, and Katherine Massey. Their deaths CANNOT BE IN VAIN! Like many mass shootings, Buffalo went national joining the long list of America's mass shootings roster.  Unfortunately once our story dies down in the news, the aftermath of such a nightmare is still alive and well in our neighborhoods, within the families of the victims, and within our psyche. It is now our cemented reality. Not "just another story" inside a flatscreen device that can be turned OFF by a switch. 

     I feel it is imperative to erect a memorial park at the site to preserve history and to teach future generations about the horrors and ugliness of blatant racism and hatred and open needed dialogue on how to counter these hard truths with love, Unity, and Growth. A place not only to reflect, pay respects, meet others and counsel with them in conversations of love and support, but also a place that will dress up the Jefferson street community.  A memorial park complete with a fountain to represent Hope, Resilience, and renewed Faith. A park that will permanently display the photos of these Angles with ten small "Eternal Flames" for each of the deceased, as well as sitting areas.

This will send a message that mass shootings will not be accepted as "the norm" and that murdering INNOCENT people WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! If this memorial park does not become a reality, these HOMICIDES will fall under the radar over time and they will have been forgotten about.  Also, The TOPS market need to be rebuilt at another location on Jefferson to remain in our community. We had nothing BUT the TOPS market and now THAT has been taken from us. The crime set back a lot of people in several different ways. The loss of loved ones, cars parked in the lot that are still considered evidence and cannot be retrieved by owners who need transportation to get to their jobs and run needed errands, and now a massive grocery store that helped provide fresh foods, and employment to an already struggling community has been erased out of our lives. This only adds to the overwhelmed and understaffed resources of mental health treatment and government assistance paid for by your and my taxes.

This tragedy brought attention to the fact that our Mayor and city leaders have always been indifferent to the needs of Buffalo's neglected East side.  East Buffalo has been consistently overlooked when monies and opportunities came in for our side of town to be developed. East side residents all agree that they feel isolated from the rest of Buffalo and the Mayor follows those concerns up with blatant disregard on live television by responding with "I don't think that's true." It's not about what HE thinks. It's about representing THOSE WHO ELECTED HIM!  

Take note that this 18 year old MURDERER (not "gunman") studied where the high concentrations of African-Americans lived. Had this country not practiced the discriminatory tactic of "Redlining" and their so-called "census" data collections, we would NOT have been "sitting ducks" for white supremacists to hunt us down like dogs.

With your support something good and healing can and will come out from all the carnage left behind in the wake of the May 14th atrocity.  Will you please be a part of our healing and moving forward by signing this petition? Thank You For Your Support!