After massacre, chief judge demands end to ‘toxic’ hate
Difiore calls for end to gun violence in wake of Buffalo mass shooting
Citing the racist massacre of 10 Black lives in a Buffalo supermarket on May 14, Chief Judge Janet Difiore called on leaders Monday to stomp out the “toxic currents of hate and inhumanity that undeniably exist here” along with gun violence.
Difiore, the chief of the state’s top court, Court of Appeals, said in her latest statewide address that she prayed for the victims of the mass shooting, their families and the nation in the wake of the carnage in a Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue in a predominantly Black section of Buffalo.
Payton Gendron, 18, an admitted white supremacist, drove more than 200 miles from Conklin in Broome County, to allegedly unleash the gun violence, which left three others wounded. He is charged with firstdegree murder as a hate crime, which upon conviction carries the possibility of life in prison without parole. He also faces possible federal charges.
“We pray that we will come together and demonstrate the strength and decency to put an end to the evils of racism and gun violence,” Difiore said in statement published on the state court system’s website. “As we struggle to process such a shocking act of evil, we continue to search for what each of us can do in our personal and professional lives to combat hatred and to foster safe, peaceful and just communities for our families, our children and grandchildren and future generations.”
Difiore added: “One thing must be clear: In the face of the toxic currents of hate and inhumanity that undeniably exist here, and across the country, not only must our leaders stand against hate, but every one of us must work at every level, personal and professional, to achieve equity, kinship and inclusion for all.”
The chief judge highlighted an upcoming anti-hate forum already scheduled due to rising incidents of hate against Asianamericans,
which she said “comes at a time when we are yet again stunned by the murderous assault in Buffalo.”
The event, “Cultivating Leaders to Stand Against Hate,” is set for 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 31 in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, she said.
The event will include a speech from Rep. Grace Meng, D - Queens, whom Difiore noted is the first — and only — Asian American member of Congress from New York state. Difiore will share strategies for cultivating strong and inclusive leaders, the chief judge said. The event is sponsored by the Franklin Williams Commission, which promotes racial and ethnic fairness in the state court system; the state Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Asian-american Judges Association of New York, the South Asian Bar Association of New York and the Jade Society.