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Friends,

The George Floyd protests we are seeing across America are an expression of the anger and frustration built up over time. I share that anger and I see the systemic racism tearing our community apart. For generations, Black communities throughout our country have been held down, ignored, and ripped apart by police brutality and a system of injustice.

As a White person, it is often hard to know how to respond. To my Black friends, neighbors, and community members, please know that I see what is happening and bear witness to this suffering. It's painful both because I see the suffering of another human being and their families, but this grief is then magnified by the horror and injustice of the deaths. I see the racism that drives this violence, and it is unacceptable. I also know that there are many other times events like this have happened in our own community and in communities around the country, but they have not been caught on video and so may have received less attention or even been ignored.

Black lives matter and I will unequivocally fight for that in Congress.

Here are three things I’m doing right now:

1. Amplifying the work of Black people who are doing this work in our community and in the criminal justice system. You can watch two recent conversations on racial justice and criminal justice reform here:
   
   
   
   


2. Continuing a conversation about anti-racism with my own 8 year old.


3. Donating to the NAACP here in Georgia — or other organizations who, for years, have been doing this work every day.

One of the reasons I chose to run for office was that I was sick of feeling helpless in the face of injustice. Please know, as a candidate for office, but also as a human being with work to do in this world, every day I recommit myself to building a community and a country that is just, one where we address, head on, the systems and structures of racism, and one where every mother and father, regardless of color of skin or background, wakes up in the morning, unafraid, and excited about the future for their children.

I have never been prouder of the community that I call home than I have been over the last couple of months. This ongoing crisis has shown the best of who we are. People of all backgrounds have come together to provide food for those who need it, child care for parents who are unable to work from home, and much needed medical supplies to our health care workers and the vulnerable. There is hope for change if we bring that same empathy and fierce determination to demand racial justice in our community.

Yours in hope and faith,
Carolyn