New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown recently announced that the May 14th Memorial Commission will be holding its first official public meeting on June 13, 2023, at the Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
"As we approach the one-year anniversary of this horrific, racist act of terror, we are steadfast in our commitment to supporting the East Buffalo community and making sure we never forget our ten neighbors who were senselessly taken from us," Hochul remarked. "This memorial will honor the lives and legacies of those we lost, but it will also be shared with the community and reflect its strength and resiliency, which is why engaging with the public is a crucial step forward."
The May 14th Memorial Commission was established in October 2022 by Hochul and Brown following the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, consisting of eleven community volunteer members, with Buffalo NAACP President Reverend Mark E. Blue serving as Chair.
"The Buffalo community came together in exemplary ways to support and lift up the East Buffalo community after the senseless, racist murder of ten innocent people,” stated Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. “The May 14th Memorial Commission is committed to remembering and honoring those we lost on that day. We will build a permanent memorial to reinforce our belief in the City of Good Neighbors that love will always triumph over hate."
The end goal of the commission is to develop a site and build a memorial in East Buffalo honoring those lost during the May 14th mass shooting: Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackniel, Aaron Salter Jr., Geraldine Talley, Katherine Massey, Roberta A. Drury, Heyward Patterson, and Celestine Chaney.
"This memorial not only honors the lives of those lost on May 14th, but also the resiliency and power of the East Buffalo community,” Buffalo NAACP President and Chair of the May 14th Commission Reverend Mark E. Blue noted. “As a Buffalo native, I have seen firsthand what public engagement campaigns can do to keep the community connected, help one another feel supported, and pay tribute to the lives lost and their families."
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