Hearing of the killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, our hearts are breaking once again with this latest apparent case of unprovoked police assault and murder. Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and on and on.
We need Police Review Boards so communities control their police, not the other way around.
Investigate all deaths at the hands of police. Demilitarize the police. Invest in jobs and education, not war and incarceration. Create a national truth and reconciliation commission to address the living legacy of slavery, which brings unconscionable racial disparities to virtually all dimensions of society – jobs, schools, housing, and health – with real life and death consequences.
It’s time to affirm, with both our words and actions, that Black Lives Matter.