Team, I've had a pit in my stomach all week. I’ve struggled to find the "right" words that convey my anger, frustration, and sadness over the events we have witnessed not only in Minnesota but in other places, too.
What I'm left with is that there are no "right" words to share in the face of continued injustice. On Monday in broad daylight, four Minneapolis police officers murdered George Floyd, an innocent Black man. After three days of anguish, the officer responsible for the murder has been arrested
What happened to George Floyd is unacceptable. It is also alarmingly, tragically common in this country. Just ask the family of Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman from Fort Worth who was killed by a police officer last year while playing video games with her nephew just because the doors to her home were open.
Ask the family of Botham Jean, a Black man who was killed by an off-duty Dallas police officer that mistook his apartment for her own.
Or ask Tye Anderson and his 90-year-old grandmother, whose dramatic confrontation with police in Midland — all for rolling through a stop sign — went viral this week.
That's why today, I am reaching out with an urgent request: Will you join me in the fight for accountability and justice by making a contribution to the Austin Justice Coalition today? This organization is doing critical work to fight for racial justice in Austin: [link removed]
As we grieve this tragedy, it’s inexcusable that a sitting US president continues to use racism to divide — as he did in his calls for the extrajudicial killing of Black Americans on Twitter this week.
We cannot tolerate it. And we can no longer tolerate an entire Congressional apparatus that has embraced this president's racism, his lawlessness, his criminal incompetence, and corruption — perfectly embodied in one of the most corrupt and ineffective members of Congress, Roger Williams. His silence on George Floyd's death and the ensuing chaos says it all.
There are reformative solutions to police violence. The law enforcement community knows this and would be the first to say so. We CAN hold police officers accountable when they use excessive force by establishing national standards for police conduct. And we WILL shift our emphasis toward solving problems in ways that don't rely on policing and incarceration as the first option we use by instead prioritizing strategies that keep our communities safe and healthy.
Until we acknowledge that our criminal justice system is deeply broken and unequal, it will not achieve justice. Instead, it will only exacerbate injustice. This crisis will not abate until we, as a country, join together and come to grips with America’s original sin: systemic, deep-seated racism.
I hope you'll join me in confronting this painful history and renewing our call for justice.
With love,
Julie
[ PAID FOR BY JULIE OLIVER FOR CONGRESS ]
To contribute via check, please address to:
Julie Oliver for Congress
P.O. Box 310
Austin, TX 78767
United States
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