One of Jesse Jackson’s most memorable trips to Buffalo came in the midst of the .22-Caliber Killer's spree in 1980, when a white man targeted and killed a total of seven Black men in Buffalo.
Many more were attacked in Rochester, New York City and Georgia until an arrest was made in January 1981.
Tensions were high when Jackson arrived in October 1980.
“Most Black men in the neighborhood really fear walking around right now. They don’t know when to come out day or night,” said one man standing along Jefferson Avenue. “I feel it’s a sin and a shame that the Buffalo Police haven’t done anything about this.”
Another man was a bit more direct.
“If this individual comes into this area, they don’t have to worry about it — because he will be taken care of.”
Jackson, however, urged calm. He told a crowd of 600 people in the old Channel 7 studio building on Main St. near Utica St., to be aware of anyone who tied manhood to going out and getting a gun. Jackson said hate doesn't have to be fought with hate. He encouraged the crowd to vote, especially in the upcoming presidential election that saw Jimmy Carter seeking a second term against challenger Ronald Reagan.
In Buffalo, 45 years ago, amid racism, fear and violence being stirred up by a serial killer, Jackson urged people to think beyond retribution for the then-at-large killer.
“There’s more,” Jackson told the crowd. “What about those who killed our dreams? What about those who leave us unemployed? What about those who leave us in slum housing?”
He led the crowd in chants of “I will vote,” and “I will retire Reagan.”
The messages Jackson delivered in Buffalo in 1980 — encouraging votes for Jimmy Carter — were the same messages he brought to his own presidential campaigns for in 1984 and 1988.
