The National Health Law Program condemns yet another episode of police brutality on Black people. A White police officer in Kenosha, WI shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man. We are beyond enraged and frustrated by police violence that continues seemingly without real reforms to prevent these shootings. We are also furious that a white supremacist killed two Black Lives Matters protesters and was allowed to go home overnight without apprehension. This must change.
Racism and police brutality are public health crises. We must retain the right to assemble and protest systemic injustices. People are scared and angry that a disproportionate burden of police violence falls on the shoulders of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. The protests should not end until people see their local, state, and federal governments taking significant steps at ending structural racism and police violence, which starts with holding police officers accountable. The police officers who killed Breonna Taylor have yet to be arrested and we also demand justice for her.
We also acknowledge that our feelings pale in comparison to the trauma, frustration, and hurt that Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color experience on a daily basis in response to this continued violence. We state again that Black Lives Matter.
NHeLP is committed to doing its part to end white supremacy culture and we know that statements are not enough. We follow the lead of social justice and civil rights organizations and will continue to do our part to continue to address inequities in health care access.
–Statements of Solidarity Panel
