Buffalo, N.Y., activists rally against KKK racism

Buffalo, N.Y., July 18.

For months, African-American families in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood of Buffalo have withstood smashed windows, thrown bricks, racist slurs and death threats--from gangs of white racist youth. KKK graffiti deface the neighborhood.
 
A brutal beating of members of an African-American family was the last straw. They wanted to fight back, and reached out to anti-racist activists.
 
The Buffalo/Western New York International Action Center mobilized at once. They put an urgent call out to a wide spectrum of community activists for an emergency response to the racist attacks.
 
The first priority was to bring an awareness of conditions being endured in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood to the entire city. The IAC organized a car caravan that drove through the streets of Seneca-Babcock on July 18, covered with signs that said, "We won't let hate groups divide us," "Together we can stop racism" and "Our youth need jobs, not KKK recruiters."
 
In spite of the presence of a crowd of young racists, many people in the neighborhood, both African-American and white, made clear their opposition to bigotry by cheering, clapping and waving at the caravan as it passed. The caravan ended with a street-corner rally.

Caravan activists commented that the economic conditions of poverty and helplessness have clearly made Seneca-Babcock a breeding ground for racist ideology.
 
Every Buffalo media outlet covered the event, and, for the first time, the television news presentations clarified the serious problems in the community, and exposed the urgent need to address them.

Participants felt that this first mobilization will surely lead to a wide and much-needed discussion about racism in the community, and are already planning a meeting for future actions.