We’re still grieving the recent Buffalo, NY mass shooting. The shooter killed 10 people and injured three – but sadly there were even more victims.
The shooting occurred at Tops grocery store, which wasn’t just a supermarket – it was a community.
Tops was the only accessible supermarket for 50 predominantly Black neighborhoods in the area, and after the shooting it was closed down. Now residents are experiencing “food apartheid,” one of the reasons residents fought for Tops to be built in 2003.
They’re not alone – roughly 17.7% of predominantly Black communities don’t have access to local supermarkets.
That’s why neighborhood hero Dakarai Singletary – founder of Candles In The S.U.N., a community building and mentorship program – recently sprang into action.
Singletary knew Tops' closing would devastate his community. So he created the Free Fresh Produce initiative, working with farmers to provide the community with food.
Singletary knows many residents, especially seniors, are scared to leave their homes. The program also makes personal grocery deliveries to ensure these they get food – and remind them they're not alone.
We’ll never be able to control white supremacists, but like Singletary and many others supporting Buffalo, we must show up for our community – and that starts with proactive community organizing.
Like the African proverb says: "If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together."