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Friend,
On May 14, 2022, a gunman carried out a horrific, racist attack on the Black community, killing 10 people and wounding three others at a Tops Friendly Markets grocery store in east Buffalo, New York. The gunman left behind an online screed suggesting the attack was motivated by a racist conspiracy theory that has previously inspired other white supremacist acts of terror.
On the anniversary of the atrocity in Buffalo, we remember and mourn those lost in the attack and those whose lives have forever been altered. To honor them, we call for urgency and vigilance in preventing and countering extremist violence and the white supremacy behind it.
While testifying before the House Oversight Committee in June 2022, Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire was wounded in the shooting, spoke candidly about the nation’s problems stemming from white supremacy and gun violence.
“Domestic terrorism exists in this country for three reasons,” Everhart said. “America is inherently violent. This is who we are as a nation. The very existence of this country was founded on violence, hate and racism.”
A lengthy digital footprint said to be associated with the shooter shows false conspiracy theories about a “great replacement” spurred him to drive more than 200 miles to a predominantly Black neighborhood to carry out the massacre.
The “great replacement” theory is a central tenet of white nationalism. Steeped in racist and antisemitic narratives, it falsely asserts there is a concerted and covert effort to replace white populations in white-majority countries with immigrants of color.
The conspiracy theory has inspired many other attacks carried out by white extremists against people of color, immigrants, Jewish people and Muslims. Once a fringe idea propagated by hate groups and other extremists – frequently in online message boards – the “great replacement” theory and ideas akin to it have been normalized and dragged into the mainstream, in part, with the help of conservative political figures, media personalities, lawmakers and lobbying groups.
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In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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