Friend,

People all across the world are suffering from injustice -- from racial profiling, from police brutality, and from unaccountable leaders. I want to state very clearly that I stand with non-violent demonstrators all across the world who are demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, and the far too many people of color before them who should be alive today. 

Black lives matter. Full stop. And it’s time for Congress to implement changes that reflect this. 

In a time when our state and federal leadership has been absent and inadequate, I want to offer my thoughts about where we go from here. As a Social Worker for over 40 years, I know that we need policy changes, at the state and federal levels, to support people of color and other marginalized groups across the country. 

Here’s what I support:

• Establishing a team of social workers and counselors that works with every police force across this country 
• A federal ban on the transfer of military-grade weapons to our local police departments; this equipment has no place in our communities
• A federal mandate requiring anti-bias and anti-racist training of all of our first responders, as well as crisis intervention training 
• A ban on racial and religious profiling 
• Requiring independent investigations in all cases where police kill or injure civilians 
• Implementing at least twice-yearly mental health checks of our officers and trauma-informed treatment for PTSD and other mental health crises  

Congress, state legislatures, and local leaders must act now to implement these, and other, measures. Justice can’t wait any longer. 

In Solidarity,