”We will not entertain the PR stunts of police officers kneeling with protesters as long as they are willing to terrorize and kill the people they claim to protect and serve.”

 

In response to the ongoing protests after the cruel murder of Mr. George Floyd by the Minneapolis police and the continuous violence against Black and Brown people by the police across the country, Maegan Llerena, Executive Director of Make the Road Pennsylvania, issued the following statement on behalf of the organization’s 10,000 members:

 

“Black lives matter. We stand with Black people in the fight against police brutality, white supremacy and institutional racism. The ongoing police brutality and murder of Black and Brown people—from the murder of George Floyd, to firing rubber bullets at protesters, to gassing residential blocks—is disgraceful and it needs to stop.

 

“The beautiful and powerful mobilizations across our nation and our state were escalated into violence by the police, who met peaceful protests with excessive force, rubber bullets, riot gear, and tanks. Instead of acknowledging the pain and injustice our communities are speaking out and mobilizing against, the police and military left protesters beaten and bloodied all across this country.

 

“We will not entertain a media narrative that condemns the expressions of Black pain without condemning the cause of that pain. We will not entertain the PR stunts of police officers kneeling with protesters as long as they are willing to terrorize and kill the people they claim to protect and serve. We stand with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and echo their demands to defund the police nationwide. In Philadelphia, that begins with City Council rejecting Mayor Kenney’s $14 million budget increase for the police department, and diverting those funds to critical city services like education for our young people. We encourage our Philadelphia members and allies to sign the Philly We Rise petition and contact their Councilmembers.

 

“We cannot stand by and wait for our government to change. The system cannot reform itself; it’s up to us to transform it. That is what protesters across the state and across the country are doing, and we are with them, in the streets and in solidarity. A new system must be created, and we can start by defunding the police. We make the road to that future by walking.”

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Melissa McCleery
Make The Road PA
https://www.maketheroadpa.org/

 

---