February 4, 2023
Dear Friends,
As we begin to celebrate Black History Month, we are once again mourning the loss of an innocent Black man killed in cold blood at the hands of those who swore to protect and serve. Last week, many of us saw video footage of the vicious murder of Tyre Nichols, a beloved father, friend, and coworker who was dragged from his car and beaten to death by five Memphis Police officers.
These incidents of brutal and unjustified violence are too common, with each new heartbreak only compounding our collective unconscionable pain. And the burden of these outrages falls disproportionately on communities of color, people with mental health disorders, and other vulnerable groups. Mr. Nichols should still be alive today, and no reform can bring him back to his family or his community. But we can achieve some measure of justice if we act now to reimagine policing and address the systemic issues plaguing our most powerful institutions.
Centuries of American history tell us that these incidents of horrific brutality will continue unabated without meaningful reform to our structures of policing. The fact that all five officers charged with Mr. Nichols’ murder are Black only underscores the structural nature of the problems within our police departments. These issues go far beyond racial prejudices of individual officers, speaking to a deeply rooted police culture of use of force. Systemic problems require systemic solutions, and I’ve been proud to work alongside my House Democratic colleagues to deliver genuine, impactful reforms.
In each of the last two sessions of Congress, I’ve proudly stood with the Congressional Black Caucus and many other House colleagues as an original cosponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This bill will take key steps to achieve structural, transformative change in American policing, promoting transparency and accountability to establish trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Among other measures, this legislation will:
- Ban all chokeholds;
- Ban no-knock warrants in drug cases;
- End legally sanctioned racial and religious profiling;
- Eliminate the “qualified immunity” doctrine that prevents police officers from being held accountable for wrongful conduct;
- Create a national registry to track officers with a history of misconduct;
- Require data collection, including mandatory body cameras and dashboard cameras.
These are concrete steps that set us on a path toward justice for the families and communities that have suffered so much. But legislation alone cannot end systemic racism or the violence and brutality it breeds. We must also reckon with the wrongs of our past if we wish to build a brighter, more just future.
The story of America is incomplete without a faithful accounting of the role of systemic racism in shaping the society, the laws, and the prejudices we live under today. But in some states, far-right governors and lawmakers are attempting to whitewash this history, banning books and courses that help our children learn the lessons of the past and apply them to our present. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis banned all public schools from offering a new Advanced Placement course on African American Studies, claiming it imposed “a political agenda.” And across that state, teachers are faced with the threat of up to five years in prison for offering “forbidden” books to students, causing many to empty or hide their shelves entirely. This is a stunningly backward, Orwellian approach to healing our nation’s wounds.
Even in this agonizing moment, there are glimmers of hope in our past and in our present. Just as the American story is filled with the horrors of racism, it is also filled with acts of great bravery and righteousness. Americans of all stripes have long come together in the face of injustice to acknowledge what is wrong and demand what is right, striving ever closer to that more perfect union.
In recent years, I’ve been particularly encouraged by the millions of young people who have seized the mantle of change, engaging in direct action and pressing for a new path forward. This month and every month, I will continue to stand with them and work to—in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—bend the “arc of the moral universe” ever further toward justice.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- This weekend marks the launch of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a critical new resource for those struggling with mental health and other crisis situations.
- This new 3-digit dialing code, designated by Congress in 2020, offers an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and expand the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, a service that already helps thousands of Americans overcome crisis situations every day.
- Through the lifeline, those experiencing crises will be able to obtain immediate life-saving counseling from professional operators, as well as critical expanded connections to community-based providers who can deliver a full range of crisis care services.
- With suicide rates in our nation on the rise, particularly among younger Americans, this resource will be a significant step toward reversing this awful trend.
- The 988 dialing code is available nationwide starting TODAY, July 16th for calls (in multiple languages), text, or chat (in English only).
- To view a fact sheet on the new program from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), click HERE.
