End Abuse demands justice for George Floyd. We oppose state-sanctioned violence and call on Minnesota law enforcement to arrest and charge all four police officers who murdered Mr. Floyd as he pled with them, his last words: “Please, I can’t breathe…Everything hurts. They’re going to kill me.”
George Floyd was a man with family, friends, and loved ones. And George Floyd was Black, at a time when being Black continues to be treated as a crime. Mr. Floyd was not just a man who was violently murdered by police; his death took place in the context of centuries of social deprivation and economic extraction of Black and Brown bodies. This country was built on the sweat and tears of slaves, and its history is written with the blood of Native Americans and Blacks. The impact of this and other heinous acts of terror sanctioned and perpetrated by those tasked with our protection, is ineffable.
As the world rises up to demand justice for George Floyd, systematic racism and support of police violence persists: the county medical examiner reported no physical findings of traumatic asphyxia, despite the video evidence and Mr. Floyd’s last words clearly indicating the contrary. An independent autopsy confirmed what we all already knew – these police officers worked in unison to murder Mr. Floyd.
Grief and pain look different to each of us. When white-dominated systems of oppression and violence repeatedly attempt to divest Black people of their power, resistance is necessary. Black lives are repeatedly taken – Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, David McAttee. The natural consequence is an uprising, citizens responding to a broken social contract from our criminal justice system. End Abuse stands in solidarity with all of those uprising against police brutality.
As domestic violence advocates, we recognize that our movement is not immune to enabling oppressive systems. We also know that all forms of oppression are ultimately connected, and we cannot end violence unless we all work to dismantle and destroy the systemic and structural barriers that have allowed violence against Black and Brown people to persist and go unchecked. The time to act is now.
