The following statement can be attributed to Kierra Johnson, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force:
“The world today saw accountability for the murder of George Floyd. Not justice, but accountability.
If only these same verdicts could apply to all the police officers we have watched walk free over the years after race-motivated killings, whether intentional or carried out with callous disregard for each precious life. We have and will continue to say their names. Feeling a mix of emotions, from relief to sadness to anger, we hold George Floyd’s family in our hearts and commit to continuing the work of dismantling racism and white supremacy, in his name and the names of so many others we have lost.
We must resolve to make Black Lives Matter in a country that has never lived up to that promise. In the end there can be no real justice when a Black or Brown person loses their life this way.
We each have a sacred duty to work for substantial reform of our law enforcement and justice systems, which are embodiments of structural racism. Today was a victory in the fight against structural racism, long overdue and something that should encourage all of us to continue the fight.”