In the 19th century, racism had blossomed and many prestigious white men had captured and enslaved people of color. Numerous people think that racism is gone in today’s world, however the sad truth is, racism is still present in our modern age. On May 14th, 2022, an 18 year old shot up a supermarket after traveling 3 hours to a predominantly black area just to commit a hate crime specifically against African Americans. Payton Gendron, the gunman, had livestreamed the killings and had racial slurs written on the assault rifle that he brought with him.

Racism has never made sense to me. Why hate on someone just because of their skin color? In Gloucester County, there are many examples of discrimination, everywhere you look there are people saying racial slurs or judging others because of their skin color. Approximately 3,000 African Americans per year have committed suicide due to harsh racist comments. Many people don’t understand the consequences of their actions, especially when it comes to racist comments.

According to Nytimes.com, Mr Salter, 55; Police Officer, Celestine Chaney, 65; of Buffalo; Roberta A. Drury, 32; of Buffalo; Andre Mackniel, 53; of Auburn, N.Y.; Katherine Massey, 72; of Buffalo; Margus D. Morrison, 52; of Buffalo; Heyward Patterson, 67; of Buffalo; Geraldine Talley, 62; of Buffalo; Ruth Whitfield, 86; of Buffalo; and Pearl Young, 77; of Buffalo, were all victims of the hate crime committed by Payton Gendron. Eleven out of the thirteen victims were African American. Citizens in Buffalo are terrified for themselves and their families.

To conclude, it makes me sick to think that people in our society believe they have the right to kill whoever they want, especially for something as small as their skin color. How an eighteen year old has so much hate to where he could slaughter 13 people and livestream it for everyone to watch, is nauseating. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.