10 minute read
In the Classroom
Katherine Massey, a relentless voice for the voiceless
By HERB BOYD
Special to the AmNews
Last week one of the fatalities in the Buffalo massacre, Heyward Patterson, reminded us of Haywood Patterson. He was one of the Scottsboro Boys who were falsely accused and imprisoned for raping two white women. Our focus was on Patterson’s mother, Janie, and her tireless advocacy for the innocence of her son and the other eight Black youths.
This week we return to Buffalo to profile the remarkable life of Katherine Massey, 72, another one of ten killed in the mass shooting at Tops Market on May 14; several others were wounded. The world learned much more about her selfless dedication to civil rights during her funeral services and the eulogy delivered by Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) on May 23 at Pilgrim Baptist Church.
“I am here to celebrate the life of a freedom fighting sister, a courageous Black woman,“ Chavis began. “The question now is what are we going to do in our anger, in our pain? We should learn from Katherine Massey … this African queen. It’s in our tradition that when one is taken from us to pay our respects. But the greatest way we can pay our respects to Katherine Massey is to keep her spirit alive, keep her journalism alive.” That Chavis was there was in a couple of ways fitting— Massey, called Kat—worked as a journalist for the Challenger Community News, a Black-owned paper, and in a letter posted in the Buffalo News nearly a year ago, she voiced her concern about the prevalence of gun violence in the community, noting another shooting that was a “gut-wrenching account of the escalating gun violence in Buffalo and major U.S. cities,” she wrote.
At the services, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said of Massey that, “She was proficient in her history, proficient in her culture, and a lover of all people,” he declared. “She was a constant presence in our community. A warm and welcoming spirit who had a beautiful and brilliant smile that could light up the atmosphere, cut through every conflict, and warm your heart.”
Several associates and close friends told the press about Massey’s commitment to racial justice, most notably through her writing. “Kat took her God-given creative writing ability, and she coupled that with a quiet spirit that, paired together, wound up exhibiting in an extremely powerful way without shouting or menacing,” said Sherry Sherrill, 56, of Buffalo. Sherrill is the oldest daughter of Betty Jean Grant, a former Erie County legislator, and a close friend of Massey’s for decades. Grant added, in a comment to WKBW, “She's in a true sense of the word, a warrior. She loved working and she loved helping people.” Sharon Belton-Cottman, a Buffalo school board member and a community activist who worked with Massey in the community group We are Women Warriors, told ABC News that she is dedicated to renaming Massey's street after her late friend. Mayor Brown, during his remarks, noted that Massey was a determined activist in her neighborhood. “She was called the mayor of Cherry Street,” where she lived, he said. “Before that, she was like a governor. And more than that, she was a queen mother of this community. She was a leader, leading with warmth and intelligence and the power of her pen.”
Photo of Katherine Massey in the lower left-hand corner
ACTIVITIES
FIND OUT MORE
We were not able to find actual stories published by Kat before going to press but we will continue this pursuit. An obit can be found in the edition posted here.
DISCUSSION
More vital statistics may come in the future since we’ve reached out to family members and friends.
PLACE IN CONTEXT
Kat gave us the power of her commitment and insight for more than a half century of activism
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY
May 29, 1973: Thomas Bradley was elected the first African American mayor of Los Angeles.
June 1, 1942: Alfred Masters of Oklahoma City became the first African American U.S. Marine.
June 2, 1863: Abolitionist Harriet Tubman led Union Troops as they attacked plantations on the Combahee River in S.C.
she is directing uniform and plainclothes officers to increase visibility at schools in their patrol areas statewide from now until the end of the school year. The safety teams will combat the rise in domestic and violent extremism that targets vulnerable and minority communities on social media platforms.
Hochul also plans to widen the definition of a firearm and require microstamping, or “fingerprinting” on the bullets, which should help aid in investigating gun-related crimes and trafficking of illegal guns.
Meanwhile, anti-gun advocates are nervous about a possible Supreme Court ruling that stretches all the way back to 2008. It could loosen the state’s tight concealed carry laws and have a tremendous impact on public safety, said Pix11.
In a statewide press conference on May 31, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said that he “hopes and prays” the Supreme Court will take into account the recent and tragic mass shootings when making decisions.
Also in the courts, the state’s gun liability law was recently upheld by Attorney General Letitia James. Senator Zellnor Myrie, who sponsored the gun liability law, said resolutely that federal inaction is not an excuse to do nothing when it comes to gun violence.
“These have been a dark two weeks. Black people slain while shopping in Buffalo, a commuter shot dead on the train I take every week in Brooklyn, and children mercilessly massacred in Texas,” said Myrie in a statement. “We passed this first-in-the-nation law for one reason: to protect New Yorkers from gun violence and hold bad actors in the gun industry who help facilitate that violence accountable.”
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w
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in person in the primaries is June 3, and the last day to postmark an registration application is June 8. The deadline to register to vote in person in the general election is Oct. 14, and the last day to postmark an registration application is Oct. 19.
In order to register to vote in the city, you must be a resident for the last month, at least 18 years old, have citizenship, and not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction.
Early voting for the June primaries starts on June 18 to June 26. Early voting hours include:
Saturday June 18, 2022 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SundayJune 19, 2022 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday June 20, 2022 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday June 21, 2022 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday June 22, 2022 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday June 23, 2022 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday June 24, 2022 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday June 25, 2022 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SundayJune 26, 2022 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Early voting for the August primaries is from Aug. 13 to Aug. 21. Hours to be announced.
Go to findmypollsite.vote. nyc/ to find your polling place.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w
Supreme court
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the 50 states (Georgia being the most recent one) have codified it into law.
This comes after the NRA lost a federal bankruptcy request after the group attempted to reorganize in Texas. New York State Attorney General Letitia James can now continue her process of possibly dissolving the organization. The NRA filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2022 to, according to the AG, avoid “New York’s enforcement action.”
In a 2016 report, the New York State Attorney General Office found that 74% of guns used in crimes between 2010 and 2015 were imported from areas that have less restrictive gun laws. Chicago, a place that’s become the go-to talking point for political conservatives, has suffered a similar fate. A 2017 Gun Trace Report by the Chicago Police Department, the University of Chicago Crime Lab and then mayor Rahm Emanuel, revealed that 60% of all guns that were recovered in the city came from out of state. Twenty percent of them came from Indiana, a state that has weaker gun laws.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said that he was declaring Uvalde a disaster area and that the state would provide as much help as the city needs.
“The community of Uvalde has been left devastated by last week’s senseless act of violence at Robb Elementary School and should not have to encounter any difficulty in receiving the support needed to heal,” stated Abbott. “This disaster declaration frees up the many resources available through the State of Texas and local jurisdictions to continue providing much needed support to all who were impacted
Biden
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Such action would be in keeping with those voiced by Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, now campaigning for governor. He told the press that semi-automatic firearms are “weapons of war.” These words were said before the tragedy at Robb Elementary school. “I think we are fools to believe anything other than that these weapons of war will continue to be used with greater frequency against our fellow Americans. It’s why I’ve taken the position that I don’t think we should have AR-15s and AK-47s in civilian life. They belong on a battlefield.”
That battlefield, metaphorically, is now taking place in the Senate, and Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat in Michigan, and chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said he goes along with the strategy of focusing on proposals that can pick up bipartisan support and get passed into law.
Peters’ outlook is to a great degree shared by New and work in the community unencumbered by regulations unnecessary to respond to this tragedy. All of Texas stands with Uvalde, and we are prepared to provide support through all available means.”
Several days after the shooting, the NRA held its annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. According to Google, it would take someone four hours to drive from Uvalde to Houston. Just one hour less than Gendron’s ride from Conklin to East Buffalo.
This is what’s at stake, in some people’s eyes, when it comes to New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs.
York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, who is deeply concerned about losing control of the senate. “There’s a discussion in the caucus about whether to hold accountability votes and the people who are trying really hard to win tough races have supermajority,” he said.
If left to the majority of the American public, especialBruen. The line between fostering and not fostering an environment for mayhem.
“Outside a salon. In a supermarket. A subway. A school. Gun violence pervades every corner of our communities because guns are perversely fetishized and endlessly accessible in our country,” stated New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “There will be explanations uncovered and excuses put forward for this inexcusable violence, but all are enabled by the weapons in the hands of a shooter, and the people and systems that put them there.”
ly to a few polls, more than 65% of registered voters strongly or somewhat support an assault-style weapons ban as well as a solid number of voters favoring banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Unfortunately, this is not an issue left to polls or to American voters, unless they take it to the candidates on their ballots.