Say Their Names
The recent tragic and unnecessary deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of law enforcement officers, and the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, point to a wound that cuts deeply into the hearts and souls of communities throughout the nation. This is particularly true for communities of color – communities in which encounters with the men and women empowered to protect and serve is much too often to be feared rather than welcomed.
In the past few years, and especially in recent months, our country has had to face some ugly truths about racial disparities, and human and civil rights violations that lay bare how much work we still have to do in order for black people to feel safe and secure in their own country. All persons of good will recoil when the behavior of police mirrors acts of violence against African Americans in their own homes and communities. We are distressed at repressive tactics by law enforcement, and unnecessary injuries to peaceful protestors. We are alarmed by damage inflicted on local businesses, and even more alarmed by divisive rhetoric and threats of military force against U.S. citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.
(more…)
