STATEMENT: June 2020
CONTACT: Michelle Fowle / michelle@trnindivisible.org

As community leaders, we are outraged at the senseless murder of yet another Black man in this country by the hands of yet another corrupt police officer. We have to say his name: George Floyd. These continued acts of unjust violence against Black Americans must end. Since 1619, when the first enslaved Africans were forcefully brought to this country, they have been systematically discriminated against for everything from the texture and style of their hair to the color of their skin. And here we are. In 2020, having the very same conversations about injustice, oppression, and marginalization that Black Americans have been screaming from the rooftops since their first days on these shores. We demand action.

Cries for justice have consistently fallen on deaf ears. Calls to Take a Knee have been met with contempt and disdain. And as a result, Black Americans have had to solemnly continue adding to this list of lives lost senselessly: Botham Jean killed in his apartment. Eric Garner killed in police custody. Ahmaud Arbery killed while jogging. Breonna Taylor killed in her apartment. How many more names must we as a country add to this list before action is taken? We demand action. What happened to George Floyd was not the result of a “bad apple.” It was the predictable consequence of a racist and prejudiced system that has treated Black bodies as less than human from the birth of this country. We are in a state of emergency. We must stand together to demand that the stronghold of white supremacy in America be dismantled at all costs.

Slavery, mass incarceration, and segregation were systems of legalized servitude for which generations of Black Americans have paid an immeasurable price. That cost must finally be acknowledged.

This is a call for a reckoning. It is time for America to deal with its original sin of slavery, and as a result, the system it has created of institutionalized racism and white supremacy.

This is a call to action:

* We call for bi-partisan Congressional legislation to address police accountability and the use of excessive force within its ranks.

* We call on call on the DOJ to reinstate policies under the Civil Rights Division that was systematically rolled back by the Trump administration. www.TRNIndivisible.org

* We call upon Congress to pass H.R. 40, legislation that would create a commission to study the effects of slavery and discrimination from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies.

* We call on our Mayor and City council to accept a People’s Budget which will take the currently 54% of unrestricted general funds that are allocated to the police and direct those funds back into the priorities and needs of our communities.

Until white America is willing to collectively take responsibility for its shameful past and, as a result, the present effect it has on this country, this cycle of tragic violence will continue

It is time for America to acknowledge the truth behind these killings. A truth that is a brutal reminder to most Black Americans that you can and will be killed while being Black. It is time for white America to stand side by side with the rest of us and scream out in protest against this heinous reality.

We call for an end to the systemic racism that has allowed this culture of corruption and racism to go unchecked for decades in this country. We demand action.

Signed,

Michelle Fowle Michelle Fowle
Founder and Chair The Resistance – Northridge, Indivisible

If you are in the West San Fernando Valley and support Black Lives, please sign on using the link below.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSca4pQqdgxZjTy35uFQsWt_VR Wn6qzoVC3BpsoNYpKhO277_A/viewform

Community Leaders of the West Valley *The letter was drafted by Emayatzy Oliver, who is a community leader and board member of the Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council and fellow board member Carlos Amador provided support.

###