On May 14, 2022, a self-identified white supremacist entered the Tops Friendly Markets on the East Side of Buffalo, New York, and murdered ten innocent Black people whose only “crime” was being Black and shopping at the only full-service grocery store serving their community.

This act of racial terror fueled by White Christian nationalism became a defining moment for our family and the catalyst for what would become In the Public Square.

Long before Buffalo, I had watched my mother, Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, answer the call to accompany communities in moments of crisis. Following Ferguson, I had the privilege of organizing alongside her throughout Missouri, building power with working families, congregations, and community leaders. Together, we worked to advance justice reform, expand access to healthcare, increase economic opportunity, strengthen neighborhoods, and grow civic participation through grassroots organizing.

People know that if they call her, she will come. She has spent over a decade standing shoulder to shoulder with communities experiencing grief, injustice, and struggle. It was no surprise that, within 72 hours of the Buffalo massacre, she was on the ground accompanying pastors, families, and community leaders.

What she witnessed in Buffalo changed us.

She returned carrying the weight of profound trauma, convinced that while extraordinary organizing was happening across the country, something essential was still missing. Communities needed more than rapid response. They needed deep spiritual formation, sustained relationships, and leaders prepared to move strategically — not just in moments of crisis, but long after the headlines faded. They needed people equipped to practice courageous solidarity before the next tragedy occurred.

What began as an idea for an app evolved into something much larger: In the Public Square.

Incorporated in Missouri in 2024, the organization has been preparing for this moment — a time when troops are deployed into Black-led communities, coordinated judicial and legislative attacks threaten our democracy and voting rights, and too many communities are left to navigate crises alone.

In the Public Square exists to equip faith leaders, organizers, and community members to faithfully accompany communities through crisis, organize collective action against systemic injustice, and build the power necessary to transform the conditions that give rise to these crises in the first place.

Inspired by the courage and unwavering commitment of my mother, Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould — known to many as Pastor in the Public Square — grounded in faith, and compelled by the political and racial violence directed at Black communities across this nation, we believe we have been called to serve “for such a time as this.”