NRCAT Affirms the Sacred Value of Black Lives The staff of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture have issued this statement in response to recent events in our nation: The staff of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture affirms the sacred value of black lives and condemns the anti-black violence we have collectively mourned in recent days with the murders of Mr. George Floyd and Ms. Breonna Taylor by the police. Our experience working to end torture in U.S. policy, practice and culture teaches us that such acts of state violence are not isolated incidents but rather expose a culture of violence against people of color. This same state violence also pervades U.S. prisons, jails, and detention centers, where on any given day tens of thousands of people, disproportionately adults and youth of color, are held in conditions of solitary confinement, a practice considered a form of torture by the United Nations, medical professionals and other developed countries. We stand in solidarity with those whose moral outrage has courageously led them to engage in ongoing public protest demanding racial justice. We condemn the militarization of police departments and the use of National Guard and federal security forces, including riot teams from agencies like the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This level of response to peaceful protest only escalates tensions in our communities. We condemn the system-wide lockdown currently in force in the Federal Bureau of Prisons in response to public protests. Such actions do not make us safer as a society, but rather they poison the very soul of our nation. As an interfaith membership organization born in 2006 in response to the devastating images of torture perpetrated by members of the U.S. military against detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, NRCAT’s members represent every major faith tradition and share these common values: that all people possess inherent dignity and sacred worth; that torture is immoral, without exception; and that we must collectively work to end the bigotry and racism that allow the use of torture to continue. In prayer and protest, we recommit to work for an end to the systemic racism and dehumanization of people of color which justifies state violence, fills our nation’s prisons and jails, and instills fear and distrust throughout our communities. We urge elected and appointed leaders to reject this culture of violence and instead embrace policies and practices that promote racial justice, human rights, repair and rehabilitation in response to trauma, and public health and safety. | |
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