Dear friend,

George Floyd should be alive. Firings will not bring him back. Arrests will not bring him back. These things are just and necessary, but true justice is ensuring he is not just another name in a long list of victims. The only justice that can be obtained is to make him the last.

The video of George Floyd pleading for mercy, crying out for his mother, as a white, uniformed police officer pressed a knee into Mr. Floyd’s neck, is one this country must never forget. And as a mother, I will hold it in my memory as I continue to speak up for justice. It is the very picture of a criminal justice system in desperate need of reform: a system in which Black men and women die deaths, at the hands (or in the custody) of law enforcement, that would be inconceivable for white folks in the exact same circumstances.

All across the country, we’ve seen communities rise up demanding justice. Protest gives voice to those who have been unseen and unheard. And we know that our Black community has been silenced and oppressed for far too long. It’s time they are heard. 

When communities are systematically left out from opportunities like education, health care, and economic security, but those same communities make up the majority of prison cells, COVID-19 deaths, and unemployment claims—it’s clear that our systems are deeply flawed and that we need to do more.

We must press for change—deep systemic change—everywhere from our policing and law enforcement to our schools and elected officials, and we must hold accountable those who turn a blind eye to the injustices that haunt us.
 
We need to act on the policing reforms called for—five years ago—by President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. And that means transforming the culture of policing in its entirety. It means treating people with dignity and respect. It means removing the biases that continuously harm—and kill—Black men and women.
 
We also need fairness in our voting systems. We need to fully restore the Voting Rights Act and its protections for historically disenfranchised voters. It’s critical that we protect both the security of our elections and every eligible voter’s right to vote.

Here’s what I can promise you, friend, I commit to being an agent of that change so that our nation can truly be a place of freedom and justice for all—and one that protects the lives of the citizens we serve and holds accountable those who fail to do so.
 
I also commit to standing strong, shoulder to shoulder, with Black organizers who have been tirelessly doing this work for decades.

Now is not the time to critique the manner in which people demand justice, now is not the time to exclude Black communities from our organizing efforts and fundraisers, or to co-opt their work. Now is the time to listen, learn, and join the fight they are already leading.

I encourage you to join me in supporting the following organizations:

Black Lives Matter Atlanta
Project South
JUSTGeorgia
Minnesota Freedom Fund
GA NAACP

We have a long, hard way to go, but know this—we are on this road until every child in every community can grow up safe, healthy, and free. And we won’t stop until we get there.

Sarah