Sunday, June 14, 2020

NAACP: The courage to act


It is unconscionable that a country still feeling the sting of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, would be dealt yet another blow.
 
Rayshard Brooks did not deserve to die Friday night. The actions of the Atlanta Police Department underline a systemic issue that has plagued the Black community within this country for centuries. 

What we are witnessing and experiencing is not about policing alone. It is about the historic and longstanding wrongs that sought to treat others as less than human. Wrongs that have persisted through Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and Mass Incarceration.

As this powerful New Yorker cover story conveys, this is the moment of reckoning -- a moment 400 years in the making. 
 
 
Systemic racism manifests itself in police brutality, criminal justice, education, economic wealth-gaps. For centuries, racism has denied us full participation and the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America remains in breach of contract with the Black community. 
This is the time for a bold new vision. A new approach.

We are mobilizing to ensure comprehensive federal and state legislation to address police reform, quality public education, affordable healthcare, and equitable economic opportunities. ​​​​​​
Friend, we have been called for a moment such as this.  We have the power to take a transformative course.

By adding your voice and your impact to the #WeAreDoneDying movement, you’ll be making it known that Black lives are not disposable. The future of our community depends on how we advocate for ourselves today.

Are you ready to stand with us?


Derrick Johnson
@DerrickNAACP
President and CEO
NAACP 

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