GEOFF LIVINGSTON
theFeed
George Floyd Protest in Washington, D.C. on May 30
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100+ LGBTQ organizations condemn racism, racial violence, and police brutality. By Rhuaridh Marr
COALITION OF LGBTQ AND CIVIL RIGHTS ORGAnizations has condemned racism, racial violence and police brutality and affirmed that #BlackLivesMatter. In the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis last week, more than 100 organizations have signed onto an open letter urging the importance of speaking out “when hate, violence, and systemic racism claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives.” “The racial violence that has filled our television, computer and phone screens this spring is a stark reminder of how far we still must go to ensure that the promise of America is not dependent on the color of one’s skin,” Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement alongside the letter. “When we see injustice, we must speak out as strongly as we can. Otherwise, we are complicit in oppression,” David continued. “And we have seen a lot of injustice lately. From George Floyd, to Ahmaud Arbery, to Breonna Taylor, to Christian Cooper, to Nina Pop. The LGBTQ community is familiar with fighting against systems of power that are set up to serve the privileged few. And we are united to fight the systems that target
our Black and brown siblings, today and always.” In addition to the Human Rights Campaign, the letter was co-signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Virginia, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, GLAAD, National Black Justice Coalition, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force, PFLAG National, the Trevor Project, and dozens of others. “‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’ Those words, written over 30 years ago by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, remind us that indifference can never bridge the divide of hate,” the letter reads. “And, today, they should serve as a call to action to all of us, and to the Movement for LGBTQ equality. “This spring has been a stark and stinging reminder that racism, and its strategic objective, white supremacy, is as defining a characteristic of the American experience as those ideals upon which we claim to hold our democracy — justice, equality, liberty.” The letter calls out the “haunting pleas of George Floyd for the most basic of human needs — simply, breath — as a JUNE 4, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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