May 19, 2022
As an organization founded in social and racial justice, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network is sickened and saddened by the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, Dallas, Texas, and Orange County, California. The tragic loss of life in each of these incidents of violence and hate against our neighbors who were killed while shopping, working, and socializing at church is a collective trauma experienced by the BIPOC communities who have been specifically targeted by domestic terrorists. Hatred, prejudice, and bigotry in our nation far too often result in attacks such as these in the very places where we gather to engage in everyday activities, places where we should be able to assume that we are safe.
The shooting in Buffalo is part of a long history of racist violence by white supremacists targeting Black communities. As with so many racialized atrocities, we must stay vigilant to ensure these mass shootings happening across America are never normalized. We must never become numb to the next news report. Instead, we must confront these attacks with multigenerational, community-based solutions, policy change and creative cross-racial coalition building.
As a community-based organization, SPAN renews our commitment to fighting hate, white supremacy, and racism by working to break down the inequitable systems we encounter each and every day on behalf of the family and advocate constituents we serve.
Diana Autin
Executive Director
