MYSTIC VALLEY AREA BRANCH NAACP & MALDEN COMMUNITY ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL EQUITY

May 30, 2020

Malden, MA (May 30, 2020) – Calls for a conviction of officers who killed George Floyd and a fair policing system for all.

“No justice, no peace,” was the call to action after Trayvon Martin was murdered by George Zimmerman in 2012. Now, as we fast-forward almost a decade later, not much has changed. When is enough, enough?

As we sit here with heavy hearts for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other brothers and sisters we also cry out for imperative changes to justice that have been needed since the birth of our nation. When the calls for justice have not been answered, chaos erupts, just like we are seeing in Minneapolis and other cities. The human rights violations of violence and discrimination against Black people are the outrage and anguish, to which protestors are now responding; as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “a riot is the language of the unheard.” We do not condone rioting, but at the same time, we understand the pain people are feeling and how they are reacting. We cannot wait an additional ten years for justice. The color of one’s skin should not be an automatic death sentence. Whether it is “stand your ground laws,” vigilante justice, or the police comradery, America should not work by allowing certain participants to play judge, jury, and executioner to execute Black people in cold blood. The arrest of the former MPD officer who is being charged with 3rd-degree murder is a first step but further action is vital if we wish to see radical human rights changes that are long overdue.

In response, we call on each of you to:

Join Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity, the Mystic Valley Area Branch of the NAACP, and the Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition in a vigil to remember the Black lives taken by police officers and to denounce police brutality, https://bit.ly/EndPoliceBrutality. The vigil will be held virtually, Thurs, June 4 at 7 PM.
Sign the Change.org petition for George Floyd, https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd.
Support the Minnesota Freedom Fund which, works to provide legal support to protesters. https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/donate.
Support the Resolution put forth by Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and cosponsored by Katherine Clark (MA-05), condemning police brutality, racial profiling, and the excessive use of force.https://pressley.house.gov/sites/pressley.house.gov/files/A%20Resolution%20Condemning%20Police%20Brutality_0.pdf and contact Congresswoman Katherine Clark to emphasis support https://katherineclark.house.gov/index.cfm/offices.

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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. Established in 1977, The Mystic Valley Area Branch's roots lie in the work of civic leaders from the West Medford community.