NDP Chair Jane Kleeb and NDP Black Caucus Chair Precious McKesson joined DNC Chair Tom Perez in issuing statements Friday on the killing of George Floyd and the shameful response of Donald Trump.
“Our nation is broken when black men and women can not breathe, when they can not jog, when they can not drive without the fear of being murdered by the very people who are supposed to protect our communities,” Kleeb said. “We stand with all of the families who mourn the loss of their loved ones including George Floyd. We promise to listen and work with black and brown communities for justice at all levels.”
Said McKesson: “As Black Caucus Chair, I am in complete shock at what has taken place with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. My heart breaks for his family and all African Americans that have died at the hands police officers, neighbors, and many more. When will this stop? How long must we endure the hate? I stand with the citizens of Minneapolis. I ask those here in Nebraska we stand together during this time, and make change at the ballot box. Not another black man should die at the hands of police.”
Perez added: “The killing of George Floyd is another tragic case of the violence Black men face in America every single day. No person of character and common sense can watch the video footage of what police did to George Floyd without being horrified.
“And yet, this president has done nothing to heal those wounds. Instead, he has sown division; he has advocated violence against protesters, rather than condemning the racist violence that launched these protests in the first place. We will not heal as a nation through silence, but through justice, through progress, through activism and action. George Floyd is the name we’re chanting today,” Perez said.
“Yesterday it was Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Before that it was Botham Jean, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald. We will keep saying their names. We will keep honoring their lives. And we will keep seeking justice for their families and the families of those whose tragedies weren’t captured on video by fighting to end police brutality and the institutional racism that pervades every aspect of our society. So long as Black men and women cannot breathe, we cannot rest,” Perez said.
