Not six years after Eric Garner uttered “I can’t breathe,” George Floyd said the same three words while being choked to death by a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25th, 2020. From Minneapolis to New York to Louisville to Tallahassee, police officers continue to abuse their power, fueled by racism. On the morning of May 27th, 2020, Tony McDade, a black trans man was murdered by a Tallahassee police officer. We rebuke anyone who says that it is reasonable for an allegedly armed black man to be murdered, when we continuously see white mass shooters safely escorted by police into custody. George Floyd, Eric Garner, Tony McDade, and countless more black men and women who have been murdered by police should be alive today, and their murderers brought to justice. Losing jobs, paid administrative leaves, and endless acquittals are not enough. We demand a level of justice equal, at minimum, to the injustice black people face every day through disproportionate incarceration, murder at the hands of police officers, and inequities in every aspect of life. Black lives matter. Black people deserve the safety that allows for pool parties, driving, making a living, walking home, existing. Black lives deserve the safety that allows for bird watching without the threat of the cops being called. Christian Cooper deserves to be met with humanity when making a human request, not to be met with Amy Cooper using her racism as a weapon to assert her power.
We condemn the brutal murder of George Floyd. We mourn for him, for his family, for his community. We demand that the 4 officers involved in his murder be arrested and charged.
We condemn the murder of Tony McDade. We condemn the misgendering and deadnaming from media outlets covering his murder. We mourn for him, for his family, for his community, for our trans and nonbinary community who continue to face violence every day for living their truths. Black trans lives matter. We demand the officer who murdered him, and any other officers involved, be arrested and charged.
We honor Christian Cooper for meeting this injustice by publicly calling for safety for the woman who did everything she could to remove his. Protecting her is not his responsibility, and yet, he continues to show humanity to an individual who showed him none. We demand that she be arrested and charged.
We demand justice for all of them. We demand justice for the black community. We commit to continuing to work toward equity, justice, and the dismantling of anti-black racist systems within our organization, within our community, and beyond. We call on our partner organizations in the disability community to join us in publicly stating your commitment to this work. We believe, unequivocally, that Black Lives Matter.
