Residents of Pittsburgh gathered together in the days after the shooting at Tree of Life. Mark Dixon / via Flickr CC
AFSC grieves the tragic loss of 11 human lives from Saturday’s Tree of Life shooting and its far-reaching impact on Pittsburgh's communities. We also lift up those people injured from violence in the Squirrel Hill shooting and in the early morning shootings in Lincoln-Lemington, along with the hundreds of Pittsburghers impacted by gun violence every year.
This weekend’s shootings have deep roots in racist and anti-Semitic oppression, which has been historically and systematically constructed for the purpose of division and control. We must redouble our efforts to understand and undo all forms of racism and oppression. This will help ensure that we will no longer be complicit in these overt acts of violence – and well as covert acts of violence committed against People of Color every day.
To this end, we in AFSC’s Youth Undoing Institutional Racism program in Pittsburgh are committed to continuing our efforts to support young social justice leaders who are actively working to address structural and institutional racism in their communities. That includes hosting People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond Undoing Racism ® workshops for young people and adults throughout our city.