Weekly Report 1-1

A Look at How Houston Honored the

LIFE OF GEORGE FLOYD SYLVESTER

AL GREEN U.S. CONGRESSMAN

What are some next steps you will take or encourage others to take against unjust treatment of Black Americans?

How did the death of George Floyd change your perspective on the treatment of Black citizens in America? George Floyd’s death was shocking and unacceptable.

I will never forget watching the image of a police officer with his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. It says to me that too many people view African American men as a threat and have no regard for our lives or what we contribute to our community and country.

Why do you think George Floyd’s death was such a wake-up call for some people?

For one, the videotape was shocking. George Floyd became a catalyst for a movement to stop police brutality, improve relations between police and the public, and invest in under-served and under-resourced communities. Floyd’s death also represents the death of so many other African American men killed in police custody across the country. People are frustrated and angry. They have had enough, and that is why you see marches, rallies, and protests across the country. I am grateful to everyone who has kept events peaceful and respectful in the city of Houston. That is what Floyd’s family members say they wanted.

George grew up in the Third Ward, was reared in Cuney Homes, and graduated from Jack Yates High School. He was one of us. Now people know his name in South Africa, Canada, Nairobi, Berlin, South Korea, and Europe. What some people meant for evil, God has turned it out for good. We honor George Floyd not because he was perfect, but we honor him because when he took his last breath, the rest of us will now be able to breathe.

U.S .CONGRESSWOMAN

SHEILA JACKSON LEE

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee proposed renaming the original policing bill, The Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2020 and proposed an amendment to name the Justice in Policing bill after George Floyd… As Americans, we must deal with the realities of systemic racism and economic discrimination that has plagued our nation for over 400 years. It is time for us to account for the brutal mistreatment of African Americans during chattel slavery, Jim Crow segregation and the enduring structural racism endemic to our society.

H.R. 40 is intended to create the framework for a national discussion and study on the enduring impact of slavery and its complex legacy to begin that necessary process of atonement.

“The strength and foundation of democratic government rests upon the consent and confidence of the governed. Similarly, effective enforcement of the law and administration of justice requires the confidence of the community that the law will be enforced impartially and that all persons are treated equally without regard to race or ethnicity or religion or national origin,” stated Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

“Mr. Floyd’s oncamera, modern-day lynching confirmed something for me: we must seek justice for America’s original sin – racism – and all other forms of invidious discrimination. To that end, I filed a resolution declaring unconditional war on racism and invidious discrimination and providing for Congress to pass legislation, which I intend to file, to establish a Cabinet-level Department of Reconciliation charged with eliminating racism and invidious discrimination. We cannot rest until we end the recurrence of such vicious and merciless actions by law enforcement agents against unarmed black people and all other innocent civilians across our nation.”

TEXAS STATE SENATOR BORRIS MILES

Why do you think George Floyd’s death was such a wake-up-call for some people?

It was such a wakeup call because it was the epitome of a public lynching. We saw that officer put his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 8:46, there was no looking away or explaining away, America was slapped in the face with the harsh reality of what Black folks are still living through. How many more unarmed black brothers and sisters must die at the hands of white police officers, neighborhood watch volunteers and people feigning citizen arrests? We must ask America today the same question that civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer posed over 50 years ago when she addressed a committee at the Democratic National Convention, “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where [blacks] . . . [are] threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?” I too, along with so many others, are “sick and tired of being sick and tired” of the systemic and structural racism and discrimination that exists within the health care, economic, criminal justice, education and housing systems of this country. Enough is Enough!