Community leaders gathered at the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Complex this morning to honor the victims of the mass shooting by a white supremacist two years ago today. Blue flags adorn the front side of the pavilion, as part of an arts initiative sponsored in part by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Brandon Watson is one of the leaders of the Blue Flag Initiative and he described what the initiative is about.
“These flags, they represent the many emotions, frustrations, fear, hope, strength of so many community members,” he said of the cyanotype flags.
“When Roswell Park presented the idea of the Blue Flag initiative to the city, to my administration, the members of the Buffalo Common Council, one of the things that we loved about this initiative is its power to continue to unite our community,” said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. “And as we have dealt with this horrible, racially motivated mass shooting, one of the things that has been recognized about Buffalo, nationally and internationally, is how this community, our community continues to come together in unity.”
Brown said the Blue Flags will also be displayed across the Buffalo Public School District.
Recently elected Congressman Tim Kennedy said tonight he will recognize the victims of 5/14 on the Floor of the United States House of Representatives.
“The 10 beautiful souls that were stolen from us that day can never be replaced. And the loss of our community and especially of our families have suffered is incalculable,” he said. “The trauma is compounded not just by the violent way in which they were stolen from us, the reason why: racism, hatred and bigotry. It was more than just a heinous attack on a grocery store that in and of itself, is evil and unforgivable. It was an attack on our city, on our greater community, and on our country that celebrates its diversity and that welcomes residents from every corner of the globe.”
The day weighed heavily on Masten District Common Council member Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire was shot and survived.
“I started my day in meditation. I cried a lot this morning,” she said. “And, you know, Zaire got up and was taking the dog out, and he said, I know you down here crying. I'm just grateful to things like this.”
Everhart said the community continues to show it’s support to her and Zaire.
“This morning, just like over the last two years, we had a beautiful package on our porch,” she said. “You know Buffalo. Buffalo is love, and I'm just grateful for the love that you all continue to show to Zaire. He is a miracle, and I'm just grateful.”
Monday, the 5/14 Memorial Commission announced the design plan for the 5/14 Memorial and an additional $5.1 million in funding from the city and state.
