2nd Anniversary of Buffalo’s Racist Mass Shooting
Dear Owners and Shoppers,
We at the Lexington Co-op acknowledge and remember the white supremacist attack on May 14, 2022, that purposely targeted and killed 10 Black people who were simply shopping for food in their community. Today, we renew our commitment to opposing hate and injustice through leading with compassion and loving kindness.
Our hearts still break for the family and friends of the victims, for the Black community and for Buffalo's East Side - the neighborhood that was targeted by this hate.
We honor the victims of the attack and their families.
Roberta A. Drury – age 32
Margus D. Morrison – age 52
Andre Mackneil – age 53
Aaron Salter – age 55
Geraldine Talley – age 62
Celestine Chaney – age 65
Heyward Patterson – age 67
Katherine Massey – age 72
Pearl Young – age 77
Ruth Whitfield – age 86
As a co-op, we are guided by the principles of openness and concern for community. We recognize that as a community there is still much work to be done to build a more inclusive, welcoming and accepting world, one in which everyone feels safe and comfortable to conduct their lives and their business, wherever they deem it.
For our co-op, the first step in doing so is to look inward and make choices that guide us toward openness and inclusivity. Over the past two years, we’ve worked closely with our national co-op, National Co-op Grocers (NCG). NCG’s Racial Justice and Food Equity Manager, Gabby Davis, supported our staff through the days following the attack. We invited Gabby to Buffalo earlier this year to present to our leadership team and we remain in contact with her to leverage her knowledge and experience to create a better Co-op.
To build stronger ties with our East Side Community, the Co-op will return to the Juneteenth Festival, partnering with the Agricultural Pavilion, to share joy and good food and celebrate our local strawberry harvest.
The Co-op will again partner with Friends of Freedom Park on an event series titled Healing by the Water throughout the summer. Freedom Park is a historical site of significance and home to Buffalo’s Underground Railroad Museum. It is a place where people come together to heal through music, food, community and beautiful waterfront greenspace.
In our stores, we are actively planning ways to recognize and celebrate every heritage month.
We can and will build a more inclusive co-op. We remain open to your ideas and feedback on how to do that. Our staff, vendors, and community partners are key stakeholders in this work. We welcome you to tell us how we’re doing and help guide us. Co-ops everywhere were founded on the principle of loving kindness, openness, inclusivity and community. We know that this work is ongoing, it is never enough, and we’ll always be working on it. We will continue the work to live this principle on your behalf.