Son of Buffalo shooting victim to senators in hearing on domestic terrorism: ‘What are you doing?’

By Libby Cathey, ABC News

Garnell Whitfield Jr. called on lawmakers to act or “yield your positions.”

A son of the oldest victim in the Buffalo supermarket shooting, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday in a hearing on domestic terrorism, called on lawmakers to “yield your positions” if they’re unwilling to meet “the urgency of the moment” in the wake of the apparent racially-motivated attack that left 10 Black people dead, including his 86-year-old mother.

“You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?” Garnell Whitfield Jr., the oldest son of Ruth Whitfield, a victim of the Buffalo shooting, asked the Senate panel. “You’re elected to protect us, to protect our way of life.”

“I ask every one of you to imagine the faces of your mothers as you look at mine, and ask yourself, ‘Is there nothing that we can do?’ Is there nothing that you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the domestic terrorism that inspires?” he continued, maintaining his composure but holding back tears. “Because if there is nothing, then respectfully senators, you should yield your positions of authority and influence the others that are willing to lead on this issue. The urgency of the moment demands, no less.”

“My mother’s life mattered — and your actions here today would tell us how much it matters to you,” he added.

Head to the original article to hear Whitfield’s words on video.

There’s no doubt about it: the Buffalo shooter’s racism was as American as apple pie. Violence is still a reality of life for Black Americans.

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