We Stand with Pittsburgh and Jeffersontown

What Happened:

• This past week, the country was faced with multiple tragedies rooted in hate and carried out by gun violence.
• On October 27, a white supremacist opened fire on a baby naming ceremony at a Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburgh. 11 people, including a 97 year old Holocaust survivor and 3 police officers, were killed. The perpetrator entered shouting hateful remarks toward the Jewish worshippers.
• Pittsburgh Mayor, Bill Peduto, said speaking to the survivors, “We will be here to help you through this horrific episode. We'll get through this darkest day in Pittsburgh's history."
• This was directly following the shooting of two elderly black people by a white man in a Jeffersontown, Kentucky grocery store on October 24, after unsuccessfully attempting to enter a predominantly black church.

What It Means:

The attacks in Pittsburgh and Kentucky symbolize systemic problems of hate, anti-semitism, and racism that our country faces. Both perpetrators were fueled by negative sentiments to carry out heinous crimes that deeply hurt communities across the country. And unfortunately, these attacks do not stand alone. In 2015, a white supremacist killed nine black members of a church in Charleston. Last year, a gunman killed 26 worshippers in Texas.

What You Can Do.

Practice self-care: Experiencing discrimination or even seeing it on the news can create symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder: shock, anger, sadness, guilt, or other feelings. Read our Coping with Discrimination guide to get simple tips on how to take care of yourself if you face discrimination.

And remember that self-care is different for every person. As our friends at Shine Text say, “Your version of self-care might look really different than what others do, and that’s okay. Be honest about what your needs are and what works for you. Give yourself all you’ve got, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

• If you’re in crisis and need someone to talk to immediately, please reach out to our friends at Crisis Text Line by texting HELP to 741741.

Learn what it means to be inclusive: One of the first steps to stamping out racism in our communities is to learn more about what it looks like, and how to foster a more inclusive environment for all. Refer to these helpful resources to learn how to better understand anti-semitism and racism.

• Making Sense of this Week of Violence
• Understanding Anti-Semitism

Give help to survivors: If you’re able to share a few dollars with the survivors of the Pittsburgh shooting, a verified GoFundMe has been set up to send funds directly to the affected Tree of Life synagogue. You can also share the fundraiser below to get other people in your network to donate.