Black. Lives. Matter.
We are devastated to learn of another senseless murder of a black man and community member by Minneapolis police officers Monday night.
His name is George Floyd.
We cannot continue to fund institutions such as the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) as it continues to hurt our black communities.
Systemic racism allowed for the murder of George Floyd, Jamar Clark, Travyon Martin, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, and many black lives lost at the hands of the police and police brutality — that same system is built on the history of dividing us along racial lines and pitting our communities against each other.
While the four Minneapolis police officers involved have been terminated, we know that it will not end police brutality on black lives. The systemic racism and white supremacy is replicated within MPD where countless black lives have died and where too few officers are held accountable.
As youth and young Asian people, we remember when the Minneapolis Police Officer Jason Andersen shot and killed Fong Lee in 2006, where an all-white jury ruled Andersen did not use excessive force.
We are here and will continue to speak and protest against police brutality, and the harm and violence institutions like MPD enact onto our communities.