The Cornwall Young Democrats have always unequivocally supported the Black members of our community in advocating for the Black Lives Matter movement. Now, we stand with those who have chosen to protest. Furthermore, in light of the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other black people at the hands of racist police, we are imploring our elected officials to do the same.
Over the past ten days, Democratic governors have by and large condemned and repressed the protests that have taken place, prioritizing property over people and peace over progress. While the ballot box has been touted as our most effective tool in pushing for systemic change, the cry of “vote blue no matter who” falls short in consideration of recent events. It is Democratic mayors and Democratic governors who have responded to peaceful protests with heavily militarized police and draconian curfews, and who have defended the excessive force executed indiscriminately by cops upon dissidents as necessary.
The Cornwall Young Democrats are hopeful when we see the choices that young people have made in light of the tragedies of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, and countless others, and contend that if the party is to survive in any kind of relevance, its response to the Black Lives Matter movement can no longer be a rain of rubber bullets, nor a cloud of tear gas, but meaningful systematic change that protects and values the lives of black Americans.