Watching the deeply disturbing video footage coming out of Memphis tonight showing the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols resulting in his unnecessary death. Another young black man murdered by police after a traffic stop.
Also watched Don Lemon interview Tyre’s parents and thought about my own two sons. My soul is heavy with the weight of this and so many police instigated tragedies in the recent past against black, brown and poor white communities.
The same communities that military recruiters focus on. I feel wounded, furious, and in search of answers to a long list of questions.
I’m not old enough to have lived through the civil rights movement but it’s clear to me that our country needs the kind of courage, focus, and strategy that was mustered during those critical times. A period when black leadership was trying to save the very soul of this nation.
This is our time. We must grab the baton from our elders and continue the race toward justice. As organizers our values compel us to recognize that an injury to one is an injury to all of us.
While the officers in this case are black, history shows us that the system these officers are a part of, like the wars many veterans served in, are fundamentally flawed and unjust.
I am convinced that only way to change this is not through incremental reforms but revolutionary transformation rooted in love for our communities.
Our work is essential right now. It’s literally life and death out there. We choose life. We chose love. We chose solidarity.
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