As a multiracial, intergenerational group of activists fighting for the rights, health, and safety of girls and women, we are outraged by the deaths of Black men, women, and children at the hands of police. We recognize that though police violence is currently having a “media moment,” it is not new. American policing was founded on violence against Black bodies. We send our condolences, our love, and our strength to those who have lost loved ones at the hands of systemic anti-Black violence, and we condemn systemic violence against Black communities.
We also recognize that systemic anti-Black violence isn’t just police violence. Systemic anti-Black violence is 40-60% of Black women being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. Systemic anti-Black violence is Black children being expelled and suspended at higher rates than their white peers for the same offenses. Systemic anti-Black violence is Marissa Alexander and CeCe McDonald being jailed for protecting themselves from abuse. Systemic anti-Black violence is the overwhelming number of Black trans women murdered every year in the United States.
We stand in solidarity with everyone fighting this violence. We send our love and support to the organizers of #BlackLivesMatter and all other organizations and initiatives who have been and continue to dedicate their time and lives around the clock to resistance work, many of whom are Black women whose work goes unrecognized. We acknowledge and celebrate the powerful work of Synead Nichols and Umaara Elliot, organizers of #MillionsMarchNYC. We also celebrate and recognize the relentless work being done by Carmen Perez and Cherrell Brown of Justice League NYC, leading direct actions to #SHUTITDOWN on the ground, with political leaders, and in the media. We are in solidarity with Dream Defenders, YO SOS, and other youth-fueled organizations leading the fight in their own communities. We stand with young activists across this country who have had enough of this system, and who are remaking it in their own image.
In memory of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Kathryn Johnson, Kimani Gray, Tamir Rice, Pearlie Smith, Rekia Boyd, Vonderrit Myers, Deshawnda Sanchez, Tanisha Anderson, Jonathan Ferrell, John Crawford, Darrien Hunt, Sharon Mosely, Nizah Morris, Oscar Grant, Yvette Smith, Tarika Wilson, Amidou Diallo, Yvette Smith, Eleanor Bumpurs, Tyisha Miller, and all others who have lost their lives to police violence.