Darryl Lewis (Theater Director and Diversity Coordinator)
Larry Goodman (Andrews Osborne Academy Head of School)
The town of Conklin, NY - just outside of Binghamton, NY - seems like a lovely place to live. The typical small town of just over 5,000 residents, Conklin is quintessentially American. And somehow this bucolic setting provided fertile ground for a repulsive and deadly hate that claimed the lives of 10 people recently.
On May 14, 2022 Conklin resident Payton Gendron (18 years old), drove over 200 miles to a supermarket in Buffalo for the sole purpose of murdering as many black people as he could. And embedded within this gruesome tragedy is a lesson that educators and parents everywhere should heed.
We don’t have to guess at what Gendron was thinking as he planned and executed his heinous plan. He wrote about it extensively. Here are a few excerpts from his 180 page manifesto:
- “If there’s one thing I want you to get from these writings, it’s that White birth rates must change.”
- “I am simply a White man seeking to protect and serve my community, my people, my culture, and my race.”
- “Diversity is weak. Diversity is not a strength. Unity, purpose, trust, traditions, nationalism and radical nationalism is what provides strength. Everything else is just a catchphrase.”
- “In conclusion from all this, blacks are pre dispositioned to have weaker brain ability due to genetics. This is important because it leads to the question if blacks should live in western world built by Whites. The answer is no, they simply are not built to live in the White world. Blacks simply hold us down.”
We do, however, have to consider how he came to think such malignancy. Jane Lazaros, who apparently knew Gendron and owns a diner in Conklin, was quoted in an online story from the USA Today as saying, “Who would think, at age 18, growing up in such a beautiful community, to have such hate? What is all this hate?"(1)
And we absolutely need to reflect on what we are doing to keep hate like this from growing in the hearts of our own community members.
Although the town of Conklin is far from racially diverse (roughly 90% white), Gendon writes that he was not born racist. He was radicalized in a chatroom called 4chan over a matter of months. And driven by his new white supremacist outlook, he made the fateful decision to hunt out and kill innocent people - because they were black.
That. Is. Insane.
For every person who has ever wondered, “Why do we have to talk about diversity? Why can’t we just ignore race and focus on people themselves,” please consider this. Whether we talk about race or not, the people who flock to the 4chan chatroom will. And what they have to say about race won’t be about equity. It will be about bigotry, and hate, and how and why Black people are inferior to White people. Our children will find this hateful message - and some will be tragically brainwashed. The only tool we have to fight hate is education. And that is precisely why we must educate.
The FBI reports that nearly two of every three hate crimes reported last year were motivated by a bias against race, ethnicity or ancestry. Of all hate crimes, 48% were anti-Black or anti-African-American, 15% were anti-white, 14% were anti Latino, 5% were anti Asian, 2% were anti Arab and 8% were of other race/ethnicity bias..
As a community, AOA is deeply saddened by these recent events, but we remain strong in our belief that education is the best and only hope for creating a world that extends an invitation to all. The Diversity Committee will continue to amplify positive messages that educate on the beauties of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We will not back down because this work is critical in our ever-changing world. We will do it now because people are hurting.
And we ask everyone in our community to join us. What ideas do you have to contribute to this conversation? We are committed to listening to comments and concerns. Do you have recommendations and/or resources that could be beneficial? We want to build bridges to our entire community. You may even want to join the Diversity Committee. Please email dlewis@andrewsosborne.com with your ideas and comments.
(1) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/05/16/buffalo-shooting-suspect-payton-gendron/9795872002/
