Introducing Buffalo Extreme

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NPR

News, Society & Culture, News Commentary, Documentary

4.8 • 11.8K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2023

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

What happens after a racist mass shooting in your neighborhood? On May 14, 2022, the world changed for residents of Buffalo, New York, when a white man approached the Jefferson Street Tops supermarket and started shooting. He murdered ten and injured three people, almost all Black. He'd specifically targeted that zip code for its Black population. Just around the corner, teens and kids were somersaulting at the BASE gym, home to their mostly Black cheer teams, yet unaware of the violence next door. "Buffalo Extreme" is their story: a 3-part series where NPR hands the mic to the girls, their moms and coaches as they navigate the complicated path to recovery in the year after.

Transcript

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0:00.0	One, two, three, clap, five, seven, eight.
0:03.0	Inside a big gym, 30 or so girls and teenagers
0:06.2	are practicing cheer, like competitive cheer.
0:10.5	The kind with those really difficult flips and twists.
0:14.4	We are S-E-R-S-E.
0:19.1	The team is called Base, which stands for Buffalo All-Star Extreme.
0:24.4	They're a mostly black cheer team in Buffalo, New York.
0:28.0	There was competitions where we heard people say,
0:31.0	oh my god, look at those black girls.
0:32.2	Oh, she's fat, it's so old.
0:33.1	Why is she cheering?
0:34.0	This gym had been a safe place for the team.
0:37.6	My coaches and our parents made sure that we felt welcome.
0:42.4	You want to win?
0:43.9	You got an opportunity, so you have all the skills to win.
0:47.3	But then on May 14th, 2022.
0:52.6	Breaking news, at least 10 people are dead in a mass shooting
0:55.8	at a supermarket in Buffalo.
0:57.1	A year ago, a white man came to our community and saw our people.
1:05.6	Shooting at a top grocery store.
1:08.8	We were two and a half blocks away, so I didn't know what to do.
1:12.8	I was literally like, god, I cannot protect these kids.
	...

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