It is not easy or simple, but there is hope.

Akin Adepoju, President of PADP, joins with our community of civil rights organizations, advocates, organizers, and citizens in mourning the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of George Floyd. We stand with the communities who are the targets of police violence and racism.

We demand justice. The nation has watched in horror as Mr. Floyd pleaded for his life to no avail as a white police officer knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. He told them, “I can’t breathe.” We are saddened and outraged by the senseless, but all too familiar, tragedy of George Floyd’s murder. As we watch our local and national responses to the unjust killing of George Floyd, we know we have been here too many times before. From Eric Garner to Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Jonathan Ferrell, Samuel DuBose, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, and countless other African-Americans who have been killed by police. We have been here before; we cannot return to business as usual. Changes that simply pay lip service to justice and equality will not be accepted.

We speak today against America’s founding condition – racism – and its devastating impact on our lives. We also condemn the ongoing violence against protesters exercising their fundamental right to demand equal treatment and opportunity. Locally and nationally, we must address the persistent, undeniable racism in our communities. Minimizing and eliminating racism requires deliberate action; it requires addressing the legacy of segregation and discrimination, and the dismantling of systems that support racial inequities and injustices. We stand with those seeking legal accountability for all involved and all those ready to channel this moment into action, to break down the structures of oppression in our society.

In solidarity with the march for justice,

Akin