By Leslie Acevedo
WASHINGTON – Payton Gendron, the 19- year-old white supremacist who killed 10 African Americans at a Buffalo supermarket last May in an act of domestic terrorism, was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday here, and the NAACP said its community is still in “fear.”
NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson reacted to the news, and said the NAACP continues to mourn the 10 Black lives, knowing that the Black community is living under constant fear of violence.
Said Johnson, “Every time we visit our churches, the grocery store, we are forced to consider the fact that we may never return home. Hopefully these families can find comfort that the white supremacist will spend the rest of his life behind bars, despite the pain of losing a loved one which will “never truly heal.”
Johnson, following the tragedy last year, met with Attorney General Merrick Garland to “[d]iscuss the spread of white supremacy and hate crimes.”
Johnson emphasized there is no place for hate in a democracy, noting the news media has a “responsibility to stop the spread of misinformation that directly contributes to the proliferation of racist conspiracy theories that motivate domestic terrorists such as this one.”
He added that when major media giant corporations do not meet their responsibilities, “[i]t is up to our federal law enforcement officials to hold them accountable for their role in the tragedies that occur as a result.”
Johnson added the NAACP will continue to fight against white supremacy and advocate for policies to dismiss extreme hate agendas to “[e]nsure our communities are protected.”
