Greetings Members, Friends and Supporters,
Thank you to all who have reached out to us to offer your love, support, sympathy and to share your frustration. In light of the atrocious murder (modern day lynching) of Mr. George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, that was captured by numerous cell phones, we echo your sentiments and more. The WORLD watched this horrific murder as Mr. Floyd cried out for his deceased mother and pleaded for his life.
First, our deepest and sincere condolences to the family and friends of Big Floyd, as he was affectionately known to them. Please know that communities across the nation share your pain and are grieving with you all.
We have been receiving regular updates on this developing situation from both the Minneapolis Branch and our National Office. Additionally, we are reaching out to a diverse group of community leaders/groups and law enforcement. While we maintain regular communication with these groups and leaders, our recent shift has to be how to prevent what happened to Mr. Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Philandro Castile, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the countless other African Americans/Blacks who have lost their lives because of systemic and institutional racism that is still pervasive in our country in 2020.
Mr. Floyd’s brutal murder has captured our attention and sadly this tragedy and all the other cases are symbolic of the struggles of many African Americans/Blacks who are your friends, family, colleagues, or neighbors and are routinely discriminated against or must endure mental/physical attacks because of the color of their skin.
Years of these issues often manifest into anger, sadness, fear, hurt, pain and deep frustration, which is what we are seeing in many cities all over the nation.
In the spirit of community and in response to the overwhelming calls from our community, we are in the process of planning a regional Social Justice Solidarity March/Rally in the coming days. These plans are being coordinated with San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties branches, and hopefully, our sister branch in Santa Barbara. We are currently obtaining the proper approval from our National Office and hope to provide you with more details early next week.
We are tired, but not broken, and while we aim to continue to uphold the premises written in our Declaration of Independence “WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED…,” with each life lost, we mourn, and are continually reminded that THESE TRUTHS have failed people of color and Black America in particular.
So, please be assured that the NAACP continue to address all forms of inequities, inequalities, and disparities whether in education, criminal justice, health, etc. and we remain steadfast and unmovable against systemic systems of oppression. We will continue to FIGHT. We will do so peacefully, but persistently, including at the ballot box in November.
We are tired, but will NEVER give up and we will NOT be DEFEATED. #WEAREDONEDYING.
Yours In The Fight,
Lawanda
Link to PDF of this statement
