RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Rev. Dr. Anita Thompson said she was spending time with her family Saturday when she heard the news out of Buffalo, New York.
“I had the same feeling that I did when I heard the news about what happened at Emanuel in Charleston, South Carolina. I was outraged. I was very upset,” Thompson said.
Thompson is the Eastern District Presiding Elder in the Second Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) in the Western North Carolina Conference.
In 2015, she went to Charleston to be with members of Mother Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest Black churches in the country, days after a man opened fire on a Bible study group inside the church.
Nine people were killed during the racist attack.
The targeting of Black people then and now is something that hits her hard.
“What have we even learned from that? We have learned especially from the AME church — we’ve learned to take the time to make sure our facilities are secure. To make sure our people are more aware,” Thompson said.
A day after the shooting in Buffalo, there was another shooting, this time at a church in Southern California.
Police said that shooting, which left one person dead and five others injured, is also a hate crime.
Thompson said she plans to reach out to the 38 churches she oversees, to check in on security protocols.
“It is really just to enforce what we already have. I think what we have in place right now is a good strategy for monitoring people coming in and out,” she said.
As they search for the best level of security, many collectively search for a way to put an end to racism and hatred.
“If this was something new it would be complicated. We must learn how to take what has happened, come together, and follow through on the things that we need to do,” said Thompson.
A part of that she said is educating younger generations.
Thompson said next month during her district meeting with AME church leaders, she plans to look for ways to do just that.