A week after the heartbreaking events in Orange County and Buffalo and on the two-year anniversary of George Floyd’s passing, we are again, shaken, frustrated, and despondent. In the words of Vice President Harris, “Our hearts keep getting broken.” Every shooting is another life lost. Families, communities, friends, and a nation are grieving the twenty-one lives lost yesterday in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and two teachers were taken at the hands of unspeakable violence. And in the last ten days, elderly Black community members and Asian churchgoers suffered the same heart-rending fate. We take this moment of sorrowing reflection to hold the Robb Elementary School community, the town of Uvalde, Orange County, Buffalo, and George Floyd’s family close to our hearts. This moment of reflection is also one of determination and dedication. We need action and we need to use our voices.

As the brutalities and tragic events increase, we cannot continue doing nothing.

We cannot accept the anguishing scenes, schools and communities forever changed, and the lack of action to enhance mental health resources as something that is painfully familiar. Enough is enough.