Dear Friend,
Minneapolis is burning.
Minneapolis is burning because an officer of the state murdered George Floyd in broad daylight. Minneapolis is burning because this is what it looks like when you push a community to its breaking point. Minneapolis is burning because our institutions, poisoned by a legacy of racial oppression, have failed us.
White supremacy is more than an ugly stain on American history. It is a legacy lived every day. And that will remain true until we demand leaders and laws that affirm that black and brown lives are not expendable.
The coronavirus pandemic has laid this truth bare. Despite making up just 13 percent of the population, black people have accounted for nearly a quarter of COVID-19 deaths. Black mortality is 3.57 times higher than white mortality. We know the virus does not discriminate, but our society does. Poverty, unequal access to health care, and environmental racism have combined with the coronavirus to deadly effect, leaving behind devastated families and communities across the country.
These deaths should outrage us. So should the death of George Floyd. So too should the death of every person who has lost their life due to institutional violence and racism. And it is this very outrage that we’re seeing expressed in Minneapolis.
“A riot is the language of the unheard,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in his 1967 speech, The Other America. “And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity.”
We have failed to hear for too long, and it has come at an immeasurable cost. It is time that we demand genuine action towards equality for all from our government, our workplaces, our Meetings, and churches—and commit to this work ourselves.
Minneapolis is burning, and we cannot—must not—turn away from the heat.
Elsewhere
Join the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance
The United States reached the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week. Please join us in a time of mourning and lament for the lives lost on June 1 at noon local time.
U.S. Ramps Up Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Prompted by coronavirus concerns, the United States is accelerating its withdrawal of U.S. troops ahead of the deadline negotiated with the Taliban earlier this year. “There are ways to make the withdrawal more honorable, and to increase the chances of peace,” FCNL’s Diana Ohlbaum writes.
Trump Administration Weighs Saudi Arms Sales
Over the objections of lawmakers, the Trump administration is pursuing the sale of more weapons to Saudi Arabia. Leaders of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees have withheld their support for the plan, effectively blocking it, but concern remains that the State Department will push the sales through.
U.S. Considers Nuclear Testing
In a recent meeting, the Trump administration discussed whether to conduct a U.S. nuclear test for the first time in nearly 30 years. Though the meeting did not conclude with any agreement, the ongoing conversation is deeply troubling. A return to nuclear testing is dangerous, morally abhorrent, and unnecessary.
Thank You, FCNL Advocacy Corps!
FCNL’s 2019-2020 Advocacy Corps cohort have led the way on our gun violence prevention advocacy. In the past year, they accompanied 240 people on 140 lobby visits, and were published in newspapers 35 times. Their on-the-ground experience helped guide our transition to virtual lobbying. We are grateful for their leadership and look forward to seeing how they continue to transform our world for the better!
Help Sustain FCNL’s Advocacy for Justice
FCNL’s matching gift challenge has begun! From now until June 30, gifts to FCNL will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $140,825. If you can make a gift today, please click here.
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Sincerely, Jessie Palatucci Senior Manager |
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Alex Frandsen Program Assistant |
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