Iowa Citizen Action Network stands in solidarity with the thousands of protestors across our state and country in response to the murder of George Floyd and the other victims of publicly sanctioned racist murder in our nation.
We demand justice for George Floyd and the countless others.
The whole world is watching, and we have a choice. We can choose to continue down the path that leads to more pain, death and trauma or we can choose something different. We can choose justice. Justice that would start with a massive shift in resources away from the publicly funded oppression of Black people, poor people, the Latinx community, and many others and instead investment in our communities and a humane, anti-racist, and just system of public safety.
In order to heal we need to change the structural racism that is at the very core of the American criminal justice system. In Iowa, less than 4 percent of Iowa’s population is African-American, but 25.4 percent of the state’s prison inmates are black.
We need our leaders at the local, county, state, and federal level to come together and demand change. We need them to denounce the divisive rhetoric, the use of military force, the inciting of violence and the chaos created by the President.
Iowa Citizen Action Network’s vision is that of an informed citizenry where there is social, racial, economic and environmental justice for all; all citizens are cared for and respected; and policies and decisions are responsible to future generations. Public resources are committed to working for the public good, and community interests are valued over narrow economic interests.
In order to live up to our vision, we must keep working. Working to rebuild and recreate systems in a way that provides safety, economic security, justice, and health for all.
The struggle, anger and sadness in our state and nation is borne from love for each other. So we will keep fighting, protesting, and organizing because we know a better world is possible. We know it in our hearts. We see it in our dreams.
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