Zeneta Everhart's Son Was Shot in Buffalo. Now She's Using Her Voice to Fight

Zeneta Everhart is feeling hopeful.

She tells me this by phone on June 10 while on her way to the airport. Everhart’s travels have been constant this past week. When she isn't by the side of her son Zaire Goodman, a 21-year-old man gravely wounded during the grisly, racially-motivated attack at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14, Everhart has been traveling to DC to fight. She gave this chilling testimony (see below) on gun violence before the House Oversight Committee on June 8. Now she’s headed back to DC to walk in the March for Our Lives.

Everhart is charged. Angry. Fueled. And, again, hopeful.

“Zaire had his doctor’s appointment, and it was good. He’s doing good,” she says about her son. “They’re doing more scans in a few weeks to see if any of the shrapnel has moved. But it is looking hopeful.”

When asked about the House passing the red flag bill following her testimony, Everhart says it's a first step. “But this is not the end-all, be-all. We have to keep pushing for more. We need to get the Senate to get on board.”

And, as she says, we all need to get on board to fight this fight. “When I see Zaire’s wounds, all I can think about is: How is this supporting or not supporting Zaire?” she continues. “It hurts. It's hard. I’m his protector. Two days later, I'm headed back to DC because I have to keep his story out there. I have to keep it in the media.”

“They have to hear us. They have to hear us.”

                                               Zeneta’s Call to Action

1.) Reach out to your local elected officials and state Senators.

Tell them to reach out to the United States Senators. They can call them. “Our local officials are elected to serve us, so reach out to them,” says Everhart. “Email them. Call them. I work for a New York State Senator. I know how this goes. People call us all the time about different issues in their neighborhood. We listen and we respond to their emails. So call—and tell them that this is something they need to support and to get on board with.”

2.) Educate yourself and your community.

A few days after the Buffalo supermarket shooting, Everhart and Goodman compiled a charitable book wish list to raise awareness around Black history, diversity, white supremacy, and racism. The titles are geared toward children, but every person can benefit from reading them. Everhart and her son will donate every book purchased to community centers across the Western New York area, as well as schools and families. “We want people to buy books. That's how we're asking people to help us.” You can purchase books from the list here.

Watch Zeneta's powerful testimony below: