BUFFALO (WBEN) - Dozens of Buffalo educators gathered Thursday afternoon in Martin Luther King Jr. Park with the intention of being a part of the solution in ending racism and bigotry.
"The important thing was to bring everybody in education together so that we can work with our children, our students, to make sure that we eradicate this deadly virus that's afflicted our country, and I'm not talking about the coronavirus - I'm talking about racism, bigotry, etc." said Buffalo Teachers Federation President Phil Rumore.
Reverend Mark Blue, who also serves as the president of the Buffalo branch of the NAACP, called for a more targeted curriculum regarding Black history in the United States, and Rumore agrees.
"We also need to get involved in a curriculum that teaches our kids to celebrate their diversity, but we can't just talk about it - we have to to do something about it," he said.
"I think this was an important first step towards changing the whole culture of the city, the county and the United States, and I think it's long overdue," said Armstrong. "Black history is American history - it's all a part of American history, and it's how America was formed and how it continued to evolve."
Perhaps the most powerful speech at the rally was given by Hutch Tech graduating senior Windy Singo.
"Our justice system works in favor of some and not for others," she began. "People in power are using their powers against others, and America as a whole oppressing the Black race.
"We have been fighting a system that was never built to include everyone, and now we are demanding that it excludes no one," Singo continued. "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.'"
