Car Caravan for Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Steven Taylor
For Immediate Release: Car Caravan for Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Steven Taylor
Contact: info@antipoliceterrorproject.org
What: Anti Police-Terror Project leading a Car Caravan demanding Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Steven Taylor
When: Sunday, 5/31/20 at 2pm
Where: Cars will gather at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, corner Middle Harbor Rd and 7th St, Oakland, CA
The Anti Police-Terror Project condemns the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police on May 25, 2020 and the murder of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020 by the Louisville Police, as well as the murder of Steven Taylor on April 18, 2020 by the San Leandro Police, and the murder of thousands of other Black and Brown victims of police murder across the U.S., including seven deaths in the Bay Area in the past two months.
In 2015, law enforcement killed 965 people in this country.
In 2016, law enforcement killed 962 people in this country.
In 2017, law enforcement killed 1,147 people in this country.
In 2018, law enforcement killed 992 people in this country.
In 2019, law enforcement killed 1,099 people in this country.
So far in 2020, law enforcement has killed 400 people in this country.
That is a total of 5,565 people in 5 ½ years. A disproportionate number of these people were Black, Brown or Indigenous. The vast majority were in mental health crises. And far too many were unarmed.
Nearly all of these people do not receive the level of attention that the murder of George Floyd has, which perhaps is why society as a whole isn’t as outraged as they should be. Maybe if more people here knew that law enforcement kills at least one Black person in the United States every single day, there would be real change instead of hollow rhetoric. Maybe if it was common knowledge that police murder is a leading cause of death for Black men, we would stop bloating police budgets and instead redirect funds to things that actually keep us safe: good jobs, quality education, mental health and substance abuse support, and housing.
Perhaps.
But most likely not. The legacy of white supremacy in this country, perpetuated by its leaders and decision makers, sees Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies as expendable. We are routinely murdered for walking, driving, breathing, jogging, selling cds, having a mental health crisis, sitting in our living rooms, sleeping in our beds, cashing a check, walking into our homes, looking like someone else, buying an ice tea, standing outside of a party, shopping at Walmart, showing our valid gun licenses, selling cigarettes, standing in our grandmother’s backyard, sleeping in our car, riding our bikes, in short, living our lives -- and then denied any form of accountability or justice.
George Floyd’s murder is one too many and underscores the importance of those of us bent on justice to continue the work. To continue to build alternative models for safety and care within a system that was born to catch, kill, and incarcerate us and has never stopped doing so. To continue shifting the public narrative around policing and prisons by supporting families, amplifying stories, enacting radical reforms, and engaging in resistance.
See also our Virtual Altar for All Those Impacted by State-Sanctioned Violence: https://bit.ly/3cbPO0C
#GeorgeFloyd #ICantBreathe #BreonnaTaylor #StevenTaylor #StopKillingUs
The Anti Police-Terror Project is a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color. We support families surviving police terror in their fight for justice, documenting police abuses and connecting impacted families and community members with resources, legal referrals, and opportunities for healing. APTP began as a project of the ONYX Organizing Committee.
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