PFAW Member,
George Floyd is nationwide news. Not for the reasons that he deserved, like the fact that he was a kind father and dedicated to helping the downtrodden – but because a now-former Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck until he stopped breathing. Floyd was murdered by a police officer while three other police officers watched.
This is a tragedy. But it is a product of the systemic anti-Black racism that historically permeates America, as a society and a culture. The protests that have emerged across the country in the wake of this injustice are an expression of frustration that crimes like this keep happening without any tangible change.
The news is still progressing, but so far, that police officer has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Investigations regarding the other police officers at the scene are still ongoing.1
It's not enough.
Charging one person with one murder is not enough to topple the culture of white supremacy that is endemic to America’s justice systems, to its economic systems, to its very foundations. Charging one person with murder is not enough to heal the constantly reopening wounds of the Black community as they bear witness to avoidable tragedies like this over and over again. Charging one person with murder is not enough to fix this problem.
And, to be sure, there is no simple fix. Racism and white supremacy are not only part of our country’s history – they’re in its DNA... but the American VALUES that WE fight for demand that we make dismantling that racism a top priority.
All non-Black Americans – and especially white Americans – must commit to learning and embodying the principles of anti-racism, and to working to dismantle the systems of oppression that are deeply woven into every aspect of our daily lives.
In this challenging time, organizations that work to advance racial equity and combat structural racism and police brutality need your support. Here are a few organizations to donate or volunteer with:
Communities United Against Police Brutality is a Minneapolis and St. Paul area community resistance group that empowers local communities to challenge structural inequality and police brutality.
Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc. works to organize and mobilize in response to anti-Black violence and structural inequality.
Center for Policing Equity produces data and research to pinpoint evidence-based solutions to problems of bias and policing to reform law enforcement agencies.
Color of Change aims to motivate decisionmakers in corporations and government to create policy solutions to systemic problems of racial justice by mobilizing digital organizers across the country.
The Sentencing Project works to advance a fair criminal justice system by reforming sentencing policy that disproportionately impacts Black communities, addressing racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration and prisons.
Join us in the work to integrate anti-racism in every part of our lives. We need to do this together.
In solidarity,
– Sarah and the entire PFAW Team
[1] “George Floyd Updates: Former Minneapolis Officer Is Charged With Murder.” (The New York Times, 05/29/2020.)
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