ACE is a nonpartisan organization, and we feel that it is essential to express our support for the Black Lives Matter movement as a human rights issue. The Black Lives Matter movement is not a political issue. It is an issue of the inherent human rights that black people and people of color are not granted. We believe that this injustice did not begin with the murder of George Floyd and is the continuation of systemic racism stemming from slavery.
We believe individuals with the privilege of benefitting from the racist system are not responsible for their subconscious biases, but they are complicit if they do not seek to educate themselves on their privilege and actively un-learn those biases they have developed over the years. As black lives matter activist Linette Lopez wrote, it is not enough to simply be not racist. You have to be anti-racist.
With the increased national focus on police brutality and its relationship with structural racism, there has been a lot of talk about the act of defunding the police. We would like to provide resources on this issue and encourage all readers to seek an understanding of the different perspectives around defunding the police and come to their own conclusions. These resources are not a comprehensive view of the discussion, and we urge readers to seek further perspectives.
Lastly, ACE recognizes that we are writing this statement now, in a moment of national reckoning when the consequences for speaking out are minimal. We want to acknowledge the work of the activists who brought the nation to this point, and commit to being part of the movement going forward.
“I am not responsible for my first thought but I am responsible for my second thought and first action” – speaker unknown
“It is not enough to simply not be racist in America. It never has been. It’s possible that it never will be. In this country, to preserve democracy as we believe it should be, we must be actively anti-racist.” Linette Lopez, Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/it-is-not-enough-to-not-be-racist-in-america-you-must-be-anti-racist-2020-6
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Pro-defund the police (podcast)
Interview with police union rep