Dear Friends of Hallie Q. Brown,
A year ago, the world changed.
Not because George Floyd died, that is an experience that is all too common in Black and brown communities across this nation: Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Daunte Wright…the list goes on.
No, the world changed because it witnessed the murder of George Floyd by a person in a position of authority, sworn to protect and serve the people. It changed because Darnella Frazier showed how Derek Chauvin betrayed the law he was sworn to uphold. And in the span of 9 minutes and 29 seconds, the world became aware that racism was alive and well, systemic and still killing Black people under the auspices of “public safety”.
Our country has labored under the notion of “law and order” without truly examining what that means and who defines it. Certainly we all want to be safe, most definitely we want our communities to be livable, but it cannot be at the expense of justice. “Law and order” all too many times ha become codewords for homogeneity, protecting privilege and persecuting Black, brown and poor people. They are the political theater of notable figures such as George Wallace and Richard Nixon who used the term to garner support by perpetuating the myths of Black and brown people as threats, criminals and people needing to be put or held down.
Like you would with a knee, pressed into a neck, to demonstrate who was in charge, and where we belong.
The world changed, the world woke up, and the world became energized with protests and demonstrations across the globe saying clearly, with a loud voice, “Black lives matter”.
But here we are, a year later and for all the progress and awareness, Black and brown people continue to be killed by police and racist White people, and elected officials are arguing over the notion of what “justice in policing” means. Stop and consider that for a moment, that the concept of justice has a different meaning and interpretation when it comes to the very people responsible for ensuring it. One of the major points of contention is “qualified immunity”, which essentially excuses the government employee who should know the law and how best to adhere to it from consequences should they break it by mistake. However, we don’t allow this self same protection for your average person who isn’t as well versed as law enforcement and can more easily break the law by accident. The average person must depend on the court systems to be fair and rule in their favor. If the courts are fair and impartial, and police are acting in good faith, why is the system that everyone else uses not appropriate for law enforcement? Why are average people being held to a higher standard than those with more authority, power and freedom?
Too often when we start to talk about police reform, hackles get raised and there is a presumption that it automatically translates to not supporting or worse, being against the police; another misconception right up there with “law and order”. Police reform is really about removing the negative and even destructive elements of a system that was born out of Slavery in America and imbued with racism that became so intertwined as to be indistinguishable from standard practice. This is why the system is broken. This is why we need to make changes for the good of the people and for the good of law enforcement.
The truth is, as radical as it may sound, you can be both for police reform AND supporting law enforcement, it is not a choice you have to make. We have many police officers, commanders, lieutenants and chiefs who work well in the community, care about the citizenry and work hard to live up to the ideal of “protect and serve” and they do deserve our support. And working to reform law enforcement does not negate or take away from the good they do. In fact, progressive police reform IS in support of law enforcement, because done right, it can remove responsibilities they don’t need, personnel who shouldn’t be, and strengthen relationships with the community…if we can only get politics out the way.
The fact that there’s any debate whatsoever, that our progress hasn’t been further only goes to show just how deeply entrenched system racism is and how much more we have to fight. Fight in the name of Philando, in the name of Ahmaud, in the name of Breonna, in the name of Daunte, in the name of George…and all the others whose lives were cut short because racism has been with us for too long.
And so, one year later, I’m asking you to make a commitment to stand up for racial justice, to fight against oppression and to demand accountability so that no more lives have to be sacrificed in the name of justice. George Floyd died last year, but his memory and his legacy will live on, joining the others I have mentioned, so that those of us who remain will have a better, safer world.
Respectfully,
Jonathan Palmer
Executive Director
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