Malik Rainey

SNUG staff La’Tryse Anderson, Darryl Scott Jr. and Keke Fisher during a recent outing with youth. / The Imprint

Youth and adults sit in a breakout restorative justice circle / The Imprint

In Buffalo, the nonprofit SNUG helps address community violence by working directly with young people. Recently, SNUG hosted a barbecue on a Lake Eerie Beach, where 10 teenagers had lunch, tossed a Frisbee and played cards. / The Imprint 

Teens run along the shores of Lake Erie during a SNUG event this month. / The Imprint

Two kids play in front of the TOPS supermarket . This comes after a racially motivated attack killed 10 people , all whom were Black / The New York Times

Mr. Thorpe and his son Ajani / The New York Times

“We’re banking on it because last year we lost so much,” said Omar Thorpe, one of the owners of Crème and Cocoa / The New York Times

A memorial near the Tops grocery store in Buffalo. / The New York Times

Dr. Eva Doyle describes herself as one of the "regular Saturday shoppers" at the Tops supermarket on Buffalo's predominantly Black east side.

But on May 14, 2022, the retired public school teacher broke from her weekend routine and went to pick up her dry cleaning -- a twist of fate that likely saved her life.

While waiting for her garments, her cellphone rang with loved ones worried she had been in the grocery store when a horrific racially motivated mass shooting unfolded. A teenage white supremacist drove hours from Conklin, New York, to Buffalo intent on killing as many Black people as possible.

"He took the best of us," Doyle, 77, told ABC News of the 10 victims who died, among them church mothers, a church deacon, a community activist and a father picking up a birthday cake for his 3-year-old son. / ABC NEWS

Charley Fisher III, a former member of the Buffalo, New York, Common Council, speaks of the history of the city's Black community and how he believes it is connected to the May 14, 2022, racially motivated massacre at a Tops supermarket. / ABC NEWS

As the city works on plans for a permanent memorial for those killed in the mass shooting, deep-rooted east side resident Walter Myles ( Pictured ) has already erected one in the front yard of his century-old Victorian home. Among the chrysanthemums, sunflowers and morning glories are photos encased in clear acrylic sheets of the 10 Black residents killed in the Tops.

"It shows people care. We care," the 72-year-old retired railroad conductor told ABC News.

He said he holds a bond with those grieving their loved ones a year later. His garden is dedicated to the memory of his 23-year-old niece, Samantha Cothran, who was fatally shot in a separate incident on May 13, 2012, outside a house party in Buffalo.

His garden also features photos of firemen and police officers who perished in the line of duty, and historical African American figures, including Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. It makes him "feel strong," he said, when people pass his house and smile.

"That's what flowers do to people, it brings out the best of us," Myles said. / ABC NEWS

He frequently preaches forgiveness, yet Darius Pridgen, pastor of one of the largest Black churches in Buffalo, said it's taken him months to consider forgiving the teenager who killed 10 people in a racially motivated attack at his neighborhood grocery store.

Pridgen, who is also president of the Buffalo Common Council, the equivalent of a city council, told ABC News he lost several friends in the May 14, 2022, massacre that left him seething with anger.

In the aftermath of the mass shooting, the 58-year-old Pridgen said he learned the killer likely scouted his church when planning his attack. / ABC NEWS

Twenty years after 

the attacks, millennial
Muslims are starting
to understand how

9/11 shaped their lives. / The New York Times

Judge Brenda Freedman hears cases of youth accused of crimes in Erie County, New York. / The Imprint

United States Vice President Kamala Harris makes remarks after touring the GROW Clean Energy Center at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo , New York on September 14 , 2022. ------ Credit : Malik Rainey / Pool via CNP

Garnell Whitfield Jr. lost his 86-year-old mother, Ruth, in the shooting at Tops supermarket in Buffalo. He has since come out of retirement to advocate for systemic change and fight white supremacy. / ABC NEWS

Michael Williams’s aunt Paula Tyrell standsby his headstone at Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse, New York. Photograph: Malik Rainey/The Guardian

Peter Martini, supervisor of the town of Torrey, said he understands people concerns about the cryptomining facility in Greenidge, but also notes the pollution that came from when it was burning coal. | Malik Rainey for Politico Magazine

‘It Nearly Killed Me’: Michael Caputo’s Life After Years Fighting for Trump / POLITICO MAG