After a series of recent mass shootings, including one racially motivated one at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY on May 14, another at a flea-market in Houston, TX on May 15, another the same day at a Taiwanese church in California, and another on May 24 at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX, Bronxites took to the streets to mourn the victims, and called on elected officials to ban automatic weapons, tighten current gun laws, and close loopholes. Their calls were heard.

 

Members of North Bronx Racial Justice (NBRJ) had already planned a vigil for the victims of the Buffalo supermarket shooting on Wednesday, May 25, when a day later, a gunman opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers.

 

Members of NBRJ, who met at the Riverdale Monument at Riverdale Avenue and West 239th Street in Fieldston, were also mourning the death of Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was reportedly killed by Israeli troops on May 11 in the West Bank town of Jenin. Members of NBRJ also used the occasion to mark the second anniversary of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

 

NBRJ guest speaker, Rev. Frank Coleman, president of the Yonkers NAACP, told a crowd of about 30 people, “Squirrels are walking around, running around up and down trees. Most of them are grey. Every now and then, you see a black one, and not one grey squirrel stops and says, “Oh, you’re Black.’ They continue together… They all just enjoyed living together in community. The only species [with] the highest intelligence that hates, discriminates against itself, is humanity.”

 

Speaker and professor, Rabab Abdulhadi Ibrahim, whose brother was personal friends with Akleh, said, “Every single investigation showed that they [Israeli troops] are responsible. There’s a sniper’s bullet that has killed Shireen Akleh, blowing off her head when she was wearing a helmet and a vest that said, ‘Press’.” Ibrahim continued, “She was very well known, and there was no fighting at that time.”

 

After comparing Akleh’s death with the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, Ibrahim said of the gun epidemic in America, “There is a very simple solution; take the arms away from people.” Ibrahim then asked, “Where are the politicians today? They should be here now.”

On Thursday, May 26, a few dozen 5th Grade students at Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood walked out of their school and stood across the street along Webster Avenue and East 205th Street in protest. One child held up an eye-catching sign that asked, “Are We Next?” Drivers passing the children were quick to blow their horns, seemingly in support of their actions.

 

Other signs created and held up by the youngsters read, “We Don’t Want Safe Schools, We Need Safe School,” “We Want to Live” and “End Guns.”

On Tuesday, May 31, “Sharon” a 5th grade teacher at Bronx Community Charter School told Norwood News, “Our classes decided to hold the walk out.” Sharon continued, “When students arrived at the school on Wednesday, our class morning meeting started with the question, ‘What’s something you want to talk about today?’ And about a dozen kids immediately wanted to talk about the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.”

 

Detailing the discussion, Sharon recalled, “In the conversation, kids shared that they felt scared and saddened by what happened, and a few asked, ‘What can we do about it?’ We talked about the importance of feeling safe in school and how vital that it is to be able to learn. When I saw an article about planned walk-outs on Thursday, my co-teacher and I asked the students if they wanted to walk out, as a way to demonstrate the need for safe schools.”

 

Sharon concluded, “We had originally planned for a few moments of silence to honor the victims of the shooting, and their families, but we stood there with our signs about the need for safe schools. Cars started honking in support, and the kids were moved to stay outside longer.” She added that her students felt “proud” and “inspired” about what they had done and the response of strangers.

 

Sharon quoted a student named “Jenny,” who said of the driver’s response, “I didn’t know that there were so many people who felt the same way. It made me feel really hopeful.” According to Sharon, Jenny added, “Maybe we can change things, and everyone can feel safe in school.”

 

On Thursday, May 26, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) began her virtual town hall meeting, speaking at great length on gun legislation, telling constituents, “It is shocking. It is appalling that since the time that we had our last town hall, there have been three mass shootings in the United States.” She added, “It is such a damning indictment of governance and the failure of governance to not only stop these horrific attacks from happening, but to prevent them.”

 

Cortez referenced the passage of several pieces of gun legislation in the House of Representatives, but which had not yet been passed by the U.S. Senate. Calling out Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona by name, and later, using the term “obstructionists,” Ocasio-Cortez added, “This gun violence occurs daily. I will not make excuses for senators who don’t act on this. We’re not stopping. We’re not giving up.”

 

On Saturday, May 28, a monthly food giveaway celebrating Asian and Pacific Island Heritage Month organized by the Bharati Foundation at the Vishnu Mandir Hindu Temple, located at 1216 Noble Avenue in Soundview, took a more somber tone as organizer, Bharati Sukul Kemraj, created a table memorial for the victims of Buffalo and Uvalde, and invited members of the anti-violence program ‘Guns Down Life Up,’ to join them on the day.

 

Kemraj told Norwood News, “We’re educating the community about the Asian Pacific Islanders as well as focusing on the mass shootings that have been happening, so we have incorporated mental health, hate crimes, as well as anti-violence in our theme, and we have agencies and speakers from these different places.” The agencies included The New York City Commission on Human Rights and New York City Health + Hospitals.

Kemraj added, “We want to tell the families from Buffalo and Texas that we may not have ever met them, but we truly care, and we’re here not only to say a prayer, but also to have conversations about gun violence and how it’s taking innocent lives all across the country.”

 

Rep. @AOC (D-NY): "Between 2009 and 2018, how many school shootings did the United States have?"@BeckyPringle: "288."

AOC: "Let's look globally, our G7 partners…how many school shootings did those countries have?"

Pringle: "Five."

AOC: "It is internationally embarrassing." pic.twitter.com/pWMgSSuxSK

— The Recount (@therecount) June 8, 2022

 

On Tuesday, May 31, Mayor Eric Adams kicked-off ‘Gun Violence Awareness Month” and the “Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund” launched its own “Gun Violence Awareness Week,” where supporters were asked to wear orange between June 3 and June 5. The idea of wearing orange is in honor of Hadiya Pendleton who was shot and killed on the streets of Chicago, one week after marching in President Barack Obama’s inaugural parade in 2013.

 

In The Bronx, the start of the Gun Violence Awareness Month was marked with a 5K Walk/Run/Roll organized by the Office of the Bronx District Attorney, as reported.

 

The actions of ordinary citizens, coupled with the work of legislators, did bear some fruition. On June 6, New York State passed a comprehensive 10-bill package closing critical gun law loopholes exposed in the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings.

 

Legislation S.9458/A.10503 bars the purchase of semi-automatic rifles by anyone under 21 by requiring a license. Legislation S.9407-B/A.10497 prohibits the purchase of body armor with the exception of those in specified professions.

 

Legislation S.9113-A./A.10502 expands the list of people who can file Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) and requires law enforcement to file ERPOs under a specified set of circumstances.

 

The package also strengthens crime reporting; closing “other gun” loopholes; requires the microstamping of new semi-automatic pistols; eliminates grandfathering of high-capacity feeding devices; and requires social media companies to improve the response to and reporting of hateful content.

 

Two days later, on Wednesday, June 8, federal legislators in the House of Representatives voted 223 to 204 in what has been regarded by some as an unprecedented bipartisan bill, the “Protecting our Kids Act,” which, among other measures, if passed in the U.S. Senate, will also raise the age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, and will restrict the sale of large-capacity ammunition magazines.

 

It comes after Uvalde and Buffalo families testified at the U.S. Capitol and a day after an emotional address by actor and Uvalde native, Matthew McConaughey, in the White House press briefing room.

 

For more information on Gun Violence Awareness Week, visit their website at: www.wearorange.org.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.