Good Afternoon,
We are proud to let you know that last night at President Biden’s State of the Union Address, Dawn Dalton, the founder of the JustUs initiative, a core member of Community Justice in Prince George's County and a steering committee member of the Maryland Coalition for Justice and Police Accountability (MCJPA), was invited to be in attendance among other families negatively impacted by police violence at the event in support of the George Floyd Act. She also got the opportunity to be on the Hill during the day leading up to the address sharing and educating leaders on the work we have been doing in Maryland and the County!
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will do away with harmful tactics like no-knock warrants and also make it easier to prosecute officers accused of violence so that what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis will never happen again. The public and police need to understand that legally sanctioned violence and racist police brutality is not okay.
Dawn Dalton, a Marylander and fellow Prince Georgian, has been a fearless advocate for lasting justice reform and serves as further proof that when people work together toward a shared goal, anything is possible. Her son, Lupe’ Hawkins, was a victim of police violence after they pulled him over for allegedly driving with suspended tags; it turned out to be an incorrect tag number logged into the motor vehicle system. He suffered fractured ribs and other injuries. Her strength and her personal story of being a directly impacted family member of police violence serves as a reminder of why we must all continue our fight for racial justice and accountability in policing.
Progressive Maryland is very proud to be on the MCJPA steering committee with Dawn Dalton as one of our leaders.
In Solidarity,
Larry Stafford, Jr.
Executive Director of Progressive Maryland
