The most recent public murder of an unarmed black man by a white police officer has led to a nation’s eruption of anger, fear, desperation, immense pain, and an all too familiar experience of black and brown lives not mattering. The national protests, most of which have been powerfully peaceful and community based, have brought legitimate, honest, and non-negotiable demands of inalienable human rights to the forefront. Black folks don’t just ‘deserve’ to have their rights and lives matter, their lives MUST matter.
And yet situations like this remind our whole nation that too many times they haven’t mattered. Haven’t mattered enough to be protected on a jog, or at a store, or in the safety of their own home, or even walking home with a pack of candy.
The anger is real, the trauma has compounded, and the stakes are life and death. This is a moment to stand up for what is right, to galvanize around the work of anti-racism, and to disrupt systemic oppression.
We stand with George Floyd. We stand in community with our students and families. We stand for change that values the lives of our black and brown sisters and brothers.
Black Lives Matter.