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John,
Many of us have spent years railing against predatory policing, mass incarceration, and the prison slavery industry. We know that the demands heard in the continuing uprising against police violence reflect mounting injustices that been festering for decades—and evening centuries.
The Black Lives Matter movement has inspired unprecedented solidarity across the body politic. Millions of Americans have shown solidarity with our neighbors by calling for justice for George Floyd, and too many others who we have lost to police violence. Yet our elected representatives in Washington have attempted to co-opt the movement, resorting to pandering rather than showing solidarity.
They passed a bill through the House bearing George Floyd‘s name, but when called on to say his name, Pelosi couldn’t remember it and confused him with a comedian.
This past week, Democrats — led by Nancy Pelosi — passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act through the House. Presented as sweeping legislation, the bill offers a series of martial reforms that the movement has demanded for decades. But not only does it fall vastly short of contemporary demands, it doubles down on the problem by funnelling more money into policing, expanding police surveillance, and failing to address the underlying problems enabling on accountable wanton state violence.
The real agenda of this bill is to quell the rising support to defund the police and invest instead in better alternatives to secure public safety.
At her press conference on Friday promoting the George Floyd Justice For Policing Act, Nancy Pelosi outrageously referred to George Floyd as “George Kirby,” a comedian whose career peaked in the 1960s & 1970s! I can’t imagine a more blatant demonstration of detachment. It’s insulting— not only to George and his memory, but also to the millions of Americans who have been chanting his name in the street for weeks. Too many precious lives have been lost for us to continue accepting lip service.
Civil rights and racial justice have been at the core of my activism for over a decade. I’ve stood, written, spoken, and taken direct action across the country as part of the movement for black lives since the Ferguson uprising, and frankly, even well before it began.
My commitment to justice is both rooted in my experience and demonstrated in action: I’ve been struck by an irate driver using his SUV as a battering ram to plow through a peaceful crowd protesting police violence (in Washington DC, in December 2014), nearly 20 years after I was mugged by police officers outside my apartment (in Chicago, around 1996).
Having worked for decades to promote the justice that our policymakers have refused to support, I look forward to finally having the opportunity to translate our passion into policy. Together, we can help save lives, end the era of unaccountable state violence, and support historically oppressed communities in their ongoing quest for liberation.
The only way I can cast a vote in Congress is to replace Pelosi in November. I’m up against the most entrenched politician in the country, one who would like nothing more than to continue feigning concern while failing to enact satisfactory legislation.
Why would Nancy Pelosi want to change a system she helped create? She doesn’t.
Pelosi has corporate money backing her—so much so that she outspent us 15:1 in the primary. But even her millions can’t fend us off: our campaign has raised over $1 million to replace her, from nearly 23,000 supporters around the country. Thousands of volunteers are supporting our grassroots campaign, while Pelosi settles for flooding our district with paid advertising and pandering photo ops in Congress.
Thank you for standing with us!
Shahid
PS -- Unable to contribute financially? You can still make a big difference in our campaign by signing up to volunteer. Our team hosts training sessions via videoconference every other day, and has trained nearly a thousand volunteers in the past few weeks on our new phone banking tools. We're eager to include you & your friends!
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