Statement From Senator Liz Krueger On The Killing Of George Floyd

Statement From Senator Liz Krueger
On The Killing Of George Floyd

“No person of good will can observe what has unfolded across our country in the last few days without feeling a deep sense of anger and grief. Those of us who are white are continually appalled by events like the killings of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor by police officers, or the brutal hunting down of Ahmaud Arbery, or the weaponization of whiteness demonstrated by Amy Cooper in Central Park. Yet our shock at these events also reveals our privilege. Our neighbors of color do not live a single day without feeling deep in their bones the reality of structural racism that threatens their very lives.
 
“This structural racism is not a black problem, or a people of color problem – it is all of our problem, one that we perpetuate unless we act to break the cycle. And it is not confined to police violence or the actions of a few unapologetic racists. Nor is it limited to one region of the country. It is right here in New York City. Our housing policies, our public health policies, our education policies, our environmental policies, all create the conditions that perpetuate widespread segregation in our country, our state, and our city. That segregation has a direct human cost for individuals and communities of color – we see it clear as day in the disparity of deaths caused by COVID-19 in those communities. And that segregation means we continue to misunderstand and fear each other; it makes us vulnerable time and time again to the vicious lie that we have more differences than commonalities.
 
“I don’t pretend to have all the answers, nor can I offer hollow words of hopefulness for the future. But I must speak out, as all people of good will must, or give up on any chance for that future to be more just. At the city level, the state level, and the federal level, we must continue to challenge the status quo of policies that shorten the lives and limit the possibilities of whole segments of our population. We must listen to their experience, and not be afraid to look difficult truths in the face and take the action that those truths demand.”
 
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