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MT. VERNON, NY (Monday, November 28, 2022) – Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of the Conference of National Black Churches and Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, NY, issued the following statement on the guilty plea by the gunman who murdered of 10 Black people who were shopping at Tops grocery store in Buffalo this past May.
“This past May, ten people were killed while grocery shopping by a young man harboring racist hate in his heart. The beautiful lives of Celestine Chaney, Roberta A. Drury, Andre Mackniel, Katherine Massey, Margus D. Morrison, Heyward Patterson, Aaron Salter, Geraldine Talley, Ruth Whitfield, and Pearl Young were senselessly lost. The man who committed this act of unspeakable horror, only 18 years old at the time, is a product of the hate this country nurtures and the white supremacy it fails repeatedly to tear down. Our hearts continue to break for the countless souls who are no longer with us because of racism. We call upon our leaders to protect the lives of all people in this country.
While his guilty plea is a necessary step for justice to be rendered, it cannot bring back the mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and children that we have lost, nor will it stop the immeasurable pain of the families of his victims. I continue to pray for them and for the collective healing of our Black community. At Grace Baptist, we open our arms to offer support to all those who are grieving this trauma.”
About the Conference of National Black Churches
The Conference of National Black Churches (CNBC) is the premiere public policy and social justice expression of the Black ecclesiastical denominations we represent in America. Our mission is to speak with a unified voice of black religious bodies that seeks to improve the quality of life for African Americans as they seek to reach their full potential in American society. CNBC is committed to a national strategy of Black Church intervention in four key areas: social justice/public policy, criminal justice reform, health (including supporting hunger initiatives) and education, especially the advancement of academic excellence for children in marginalized communities.
For more information go to https://www.thecnbc.net.
