June 3, 2020
Dear VLJ Friends:
All of us are reeling from the callous and senseless murder of George Floyd last week. As another name is added to the long and growing list of Black people killed by police brutality in this country, VLJ echoes the call for an end to the recurring violence against African Americans and other communities of color. Black lives matter.
Separately, we must also examine the policies and systems that have marginalized African Americans and other people of color in our country. Much of this institutional racism is the legacy of slavery and legally-sanctioned segregation in America. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of the clients VLJ serves are people of color. This is not a coincidence, as hundreds of years of racial inequality has led to and kept communities of color in poverty. All of VLJ’s clients are poor, and that poverty brings with it housing instability, financial insecurity, educational inequality, unemployment, and a perpetual state of crisis.
We must insist that all police protect all of our fellow citizens and that police brutality not be tolerated in any community. Certainly, police must stop killing unarmed Black men and women, particularly in the course of responding to traffic and other minor offenses. We must demand more of our political leaders, so they effectuate policies that address the long-term systemic racism plaguing our nation. It is time for all of us to stand together and fight for justice.
While VLJ’s advocates and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that our clients’ voices are heard in the civil legal system, we can and must do more to fight against the systemic racism and inequity that leads to senseless deaths and keeps our neighbors of color in poverty. There must be a better pathway to justice. This is a problem for all of us. Today we are recommitting ourselves to lifting and listening to Black and other marginalized voices and identifying additional actions so all of us can fight for a more just world. A conversation is important, but real solutions require action in our daily thoughts and in our individual spheres of influence. Ask yourself: when you have a moment to act, will you? Racism should have no safe harbor.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Together in justice,
