NEW YORK — As protests against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police continue across the country and around the world, JustLeadershipUSA President and CEO DeAnna Hoskins issued the following statement:
"As formerly incarcerated people, we know that there are legions of Black and Brown people brutalized and killed by law enforcement officials every day. We stand in solidarity with our communities calling for an end to police violence and we demand public officials put an end to the disproportionate treatment of communities and adopt policies to decarcerate the U.S.
“We reject the racist and classist system of policing and punishment perpetrated against Black and Brown communities in the name of safety. We know that true public safety is fostered in well-resourced communities that have access to food and housing security, living wage jobs, equitable education opportunities and quality health care.
“We demand that local, state and federal governments divert funding from the criminal legal system to build communities. Directly Impacted people and communities have a plan that public officials can build upon to ensure that the communities ravaged by the judicial and carceral systems get the resources they need to rebuild and thrive.
“How many Black lives will be taken before the United States ends the carnage? We need bold leadership to make real change — not feigned outrage at George Floyd’s and Breonna Taylor’s deaths from politicians who continue to pass budgets that feed money to the racist criminal legal system — the very monster that took their lives, along with the lives of countless, unnamed Black people.
“We urge them to shut down jails and prisons and open health facilities, build affordable housing and provide living wage jobs. If you stand in solidarity with us, then you must support tearing down the system that is killing us and our communities. Invest in our communities, instead of spending billions to hunt us down only to cage or kill us.”
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