Yesterday, I sent out an email after the Derek Chauvin verdict. In the email, we explicitly acknowledged the millions of Black people who have been murdered in America.
Unfortunately, we received a reply from someone who seriously tried to argue that slaves were "valuable property" and that by writing those words, I committed a "gross exaggeration."
Look, our campaign receives racist replies to emails and tweets like this every day. But imagine our shock when we saw that this outrageously racist reply came from a member of the Democratic State Executive Committee!
I am the descendant of slaves. I grew up hearing stories from my great-grandfather, the child of slaves, about the Jim Crow South. I am the mother of Black sons. In my email last night, I am speaking my truth. I am speaking OUR truth.
Chattel slavery is responsible for the murder of millions upon millions of Black people in the history of our world. And that's not even counting Jim Crow, police killings, and all the other ways Black people have been "slaughtered" in our history. Those are facts — facts you can’t dispute.
Look at last night’s email. Look at the murder of the 15-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, who seeking safety and was killed by those sworn to protect her. Or the killing of Andrew Brown, in Elizabeth City, just a few counties from where I live. It's only been less than 48-hours since the Chauvin ruling, and it's as clear as ever that we have so much more work to do.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Erica