- The Buffalo shooting, which left 10 dead and three injured, was a racially motivated attack. Eleven of the victims were Black.
- The massacre has renewed attention on antiracist education. Advocates say nuanced, honest and accurate history instruction — what some critics have caricatured as “critical race theory” — is key to countering the ignorance and bigotry behind the rising rate of hate crimes.
- They also point to the importance of media literacy education. Research shows the more people know about news and how the news media works, the less likely they are to subscribe to conspiracy theories.
A mass shooting in a Black community in Buffalo, New York, put a spotlight on whether young Americans should be required to learn about the nation’s long history of discrimination and violence against marginalized communities.
The white, 18-year-old male suspect apparently alluded to conspiracy theories such as the “great replacement” before he allegedly killed 10 Black people Saturday at a supermarket. Hate crimes are on the rise, conspiracy theories are spreading faster and wider than ever on social media and Republican lawmakers have restricted teaching about racism to avoid spreading division.
