A Letter of Support

View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** "He’s a human being."
------------------------------------------------------------
Bystander to George Floyd's Murder
Dear Community,
As we mourn the death of George Floyd, and deplore his murder at the hands of those who are charged with upholding the law, I hope that all Americans will be united to work for a future in which "justice will roll down like waters."

For too many people in our country, justice is barely at a trickle.

Darnella Frazier, the 17-year-old young woman who used her camera phone to capture the terrible final nine minutes of George Floyd’s life, bore witness to the cause of justice in her resolute action.

Another witness can be heard on the video pleading for George Floyd’s life: “He’s a human being.”

Frederick Douglass, a witness in the cause of humanity, called the enslavement of Black Americans “an outrage upon the soul, a war upon the immortal spirit.” The outrageousness of slavery is not an article of academic history, and its legacy today should remind us of the daily responsibility we have to stand for justice.

The work of the Bill of Rights Institute is animated by a faith in the dignity of all human beings. We affirm the promise of the Declaration of Independence that all people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and hold that the purpose of the American government is to secure these rights for all.

In BRI’s history education, we examine this promise for how it has been kept and how it has been broken. In our civic education, we chart a course for how the promise may be fully realized.

Your work shapes the hearts and minds of young people so that they are receptive to the call of justice. As many of you have expressed, I wish that schools were still in session and that you were gathering in person with your students if only for the opportunity for students to share what is on their hearts with you more deeply. We are seeking additional ways now and over the course of this summer in which we can listen to your voices, and also the voices of students.

Civics at its best has the power to heal. As summer begins, please share with us at BRI how we might better serve you and the students you teach, so that our journey together, and as a nation, might be one in which we recognize deeply-embedded injustice and seek to remove the obstacles to justice rolling down like waters for all.

As protesters peacefully march against injustice, the Bill of Rights Institute urges a recognition by our fellow Americans—those who hold office and those who hold those in office accountable—to respect the constitutional right of peaceable assembly.

I have learned much from your experience and expertise, and yet I know there is much more that I need to learn. I look forward to doing so.

All of us at BRI are inspired by your devotion to your students, and what it means for our common future. Thank you for who you are and for what you do.

Sincerely yours,
David Bobb

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Bill of Rights Institute, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
1310 North Courthouse Road Suite 620, Arlington, Virginia 22201

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.