John,
Police brutality, mass incarceration, and the dehumanization of Black people have infected the DNA of our country.
Tyre Nichols should be alive today. Instead, like so many others he was killed by police. Killed by white supremacy. Killed by America. This is Black terror. We feel it everyday. We feel it more today. Too many victims to name. Too much hurt to explain. Too many tears, too normalized, too numb. From 1619 to the present day we live in a constant state of terror.
Police brutality happens in New York, in Memphis, in Los Angeles, in cities across the country, small towns across the country, and throughout American history. At the root of it is the dehumanization of Black people, people of color, and particularly Black men. This kind of white supremacy is not just about skin color, however: it's about ideology. It's the operating system on which too much of our society is based.
We need my fellow members of Congress and President Biden to provide historic leadership on this issue. We cannot maintain this status quo. We must lead for Black lives and lead for Black humanity.
Peace and love,
Jamaal Bowman
