NASW Virginia and Metro DC Chapters Joint Statement on the Buffalo Shooting – May 2022

The Virginia Chapter of NASW would like to extend our condolences to the families, friends, and communities of the victims killed during the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York last Saturday. We would also like to express our horror and outrage at yet another racist mass shooting in our country. We join and stand in solidarity with the African American community, which is disproportionately targeted in racist attacks nationwide. These hateful mass shootings have also targeted Jewish communities, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, and the LGBTQ community. We all need to join together to fight racism, hatred, promote inclusion and appreciation for the diversity of our country, and promote dialogue among individuals with fundamentally different views on public policy issues. We need to call out politicians who use racist expressions like ‘replacement theory’ that have led repeatedly to violent acts. We need to continue our efforts to promote gun violence prevention and push against the ideology that gun rights trump all other rights, including a community’s sense of safety and one’s right to life. Finally, we need to support public policies that address the impact of years of systemic, institutional racism against BIPOC communities in our state and country and fight efforts to suppress an honest and comprehensive discussion of racism and sexism in our public schools, universities, and technical colleges.

Debra Riggs, CAE

NASW Virginia and Metro DC Chapters Executive Director