The words “Equal Justice Under Law” stand over the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Declaration of Independence states “all men are created equal.” The 13th and 14th Amendments abolished slavery. But despite our ideals, America has yet to conquer systemic racial prejudice and discrimination.
Every new video of unarmed Black Americans dying at the hands of the state reminds us how far we still have to go to realize our nation's founding creed of equality. Whatever progress we’ve made since the days of legal slavery has been consistently undermined by more subtle tactics including, as we have been seeing, far too many instances of police brutality.
We believe that the passion and energy of the demonstrations following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks can be turned into a powerful force for good. Therefore we stand with our local and state elected officials and candidates who have attended Black Lives Matter demonstrations in recent weeks and spoken out against police misconduct.
The Committee encourages and welcomes our neighbors of color and younger people to get involved and help us realize the values we share. We firmly believe that justice should not be a partisan issue, and we urge all people of good will to join us in seeking to end systemic racism against people of color.
None of us are free until all of us are free. Black lives matter.