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#BuffaloSyllabus
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#BuffaloSyllabus

In the immediate aftermath of the Buffalo Mass Shooting, scholars, activists, politicians, and local officials took to social media to name the horrendous event as a white supremacist attack and uplift the needs of the community directly impacted–Buffalo’s Eastside residents. J Coley, a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University at Buffalo, was among those using their platform to gather and circulate information on local mutual aids. Coley’s expertise in the historical and contemporary racial residential segregation of the city came to the forefront when they created Twitter threads on this topic. One of Coley’s followers tweeted about possibly having a #BuffaloSyllabus for the general public to learn more about this history, and more importantly, Buffalo’s Black community. Coley tweeted a call for Black scholars and local activists interested in creating a #BuffaloSyllabus. Tiana U. Wilson, William Jamal Richardson, and Dr. Robert Mays, scholars born and raised in Buffalo, answered the call. Together, Coley, Wilson, Richardson, and Mays formed the Black Buffalo Syllabus Collective on May 18, 2022.

The Black Buffalo Syllabus Collective met over the course of three months to research and collect readings on different aspects relevant to Buffalo’s Black community. Inspired by the #FergusonSyllabus and #CharlestonSyllabus, the #BuffaloSyllabus seeks to carry on the mission and build upon digital knowledge. We stand in solidarity with the community of Ferguson, MO, and Charleston, SC and we honor their contribution to the world. The Black Buffalo Syllabus Collective compiled a list of articles, books, op-eds, policy reports, poems, and media on different themes to contextualize the social, economic, and political climate of Buffalo today. This list makes up the #BuffaloSyllabus, which the collective saw as an opportunity to center the experiences of Black people in Western New York. The intended audience of this list is Buffalo’s Black community, local educators, politicians, communities of color allies, organizers, and anyone else interested in learning more about that “Rust Belt Resilience.” This list is not meant to be exhaustive–you will find omissions.

The collective dedicates this syllabus to the community members lost: Ruth Whitfield, Aaron Salter Jr., Pearl Young, Roberta A. Drury, Celestine Chaney, Heyward Patterson, Andre Mackniel, Katherine Massey, Geraldine Chapman Talley, and Margus D. Morrison. Consider this reading list a love letter to Black Buffalo.

We thank Robert Adelman, Anna Blatto, Jared Strohl, and Steve Peraza for their contribution.

If you would like to submit a work to be considered for addition in the #BuffaloSyllabus please fill out a form here

Black Buffalo Syllabus Collective

#BuffaloSyllabus

Readings on Racism, Violence, and Police Brutality in Buffalo        3

OP-Eds on the Mass Shooting        4

Media Archive of Black Buffalo and Incidents of Racial Violence in Buffalo        5

Interviews Post-Tragedy from WBFO’s Buffalo What’s Next?        5

Readings on the City’s Geography        6

*On Built Environment and City Planning/ City Government        6

*On Housing Discrimination        7

*On Segregation        8

*On Gentrification        8

*On Urban Settler Colonialism        9

Readings on General WNY History        9

*On Black New York State        9

Readings on Black Buffalo’s History        9

*On Slavery Abolition        10

Readings on the Indigenous History of Buffalo/WNY        10

Readings on Women’s History        11

Readings on Queer History        11

Readings on Civil Rights/Black Power Movement        11

Readings on Buffalo’s Radical Tradition and Mutual Aid History        12

Readings on Migration Patterns for Black Americans in Rust Belt Cities        12

Policy Reports & Briefs Relevant to Black Buffalo        12

Readings on “Towards an Abolitionist Future”        13

Readings on Black Culture, Music, & Art        14

Museums, Historical Markers Around the City, and Places to Visit        14

On Food Justice        15

Mass Incarceration and the Erie County Holding Center        15

Readings on Racism, Violence, and Police Brutality in Buffalo

OP-Eds on the Mass Shooting

Media Archive of Black Buffalo and Incidents of Racial Violence in Buffalo

Interviews Post-Tragedy from WBFO’s Buffalo What’s Next?

June 6: Creating Community-Based Solutions

This episode of “Buffalo, What’s Next?” welcomes poet Jillian Hanesworth to talk about how art can contribute to social change. Buffalo Catholic Charities Educator Harvey Miles, Jr. discusses the idea of racial truth and reconciliation in America, and Alexander Wright, President, African Heritage Food Co-op presents the need for healthy food sustainability, and how his organization is helping the community.

June 7: Man vs. Society

In this episode of “Buffalo, What’s Next?,” Dave Debo and Buffalo State College Chair and Professor of Sociology, Ron Stewart, examine how our society breeds this kind of violence and what we can do about it . Bridget Jaipaul-Valenza speaks with Fragrance Harris. She courageously shares her first-hand account of the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14. And Jay Moran sits down with former Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton to discuss what she believes should be next for Buffalo.

June 17: Truth in Education

In this episode of “Buffalo, What’s Next?,” Dave Debo speaks with sports journalist John Wawrow about his personal essay regarding. Brigid Jaipaul-Valenza shares an extended report on Juneteenth education in Buffalo, followed by a conversation with Black History educator, LaGarrett King, Ph.D. Finally, Jay Moran welcomes John Washington to talk through housing inequity and Afrofuturism.

June 21: Food Access and the Legacy of Black Farmers

Food apartheid on the East Side of Buffalo is an issue that continues to need further discussion. In this episode, Jay Moran welcomes Author Natalie Baszile, whose latest book “We Are Each Other’s Harvest” celebrates African American Farmers, the land, and their legacy. The conversation continues with Dave Debo and Allison DeHonney from Buffalo Go Green as they examine urban farming and barriers to food access.

August 2: A Community Divided and Opportunity for Change

In this episode of "Buffalo, What's Next?" Jay Moran explores the historical context of a community divided by the Kensington Expressway with local elder, Cliff Bell. Dave Debo examines health inequity and lingering community concerns after the recent racially motivated shooting on the East Side with Rev. Diann Holt.

Readings on the City’s Geography

*On Built Environment and City Planning/ City Government

in Buffalo, New York” Environment and Planning 40 (January 2008).

*On Housing Discrimination  

*On Segregation

*On Gentrification

*On Urban Settler Colonialism

Readings on General WNY History

*On Black New York State

Readings on Black Buffalo’s History

*On Slavery Abolition

to Frederick Douglass, 1851–1860” Oregon Historical Society (2020).

Readings on the Indigenous History of Buffalo/WNY

Readings on Women’s History

Readings on Queer History

 

Readings on Civil Rights/Black Power Movement

Readings on Buffalo’s Radical Tradition and Mutual Aid History

Readings on Migration Patterns for Black Americans in Rust Belt Cities

Policy Reports & Briefs Relevant to Black Buffalo

Readings on “Towards an Abolitionist Future”

        

Readings on Black Culture, Music, & Art

Museums, Historical Markers Around the City, and Places to Visit

*On Food Justice

Mass Incarceration and the Erie County Holding Center

Acknowledgments

The Black Buffalo Syllabus Collective would like to thank the following people/organizations for their submissions to the syllabus. (Please note this list is not exhaustive and will be updated periodically):

Geniece Crawford Mondé, Alliah L. Agostini, Corey Welch, Jason Knight, Rusty Weaver, Domonique Griffin, Monica L. Miles, Kate Haq, Eve Shippens, Meghan Cope, Kenneth Hawkins, Adrienne Garr, Colored Conventions Project, and Randolph Hohle