Black Lives Matter
We, the staff members and board of directors of the Rocky Mountain Advocacy Network (RMIAN), write this collective statement with many emotions and feelings. This moment of national heartbreak and outrage makes painfully clear that many of the most egregious injustices that have plagued this country for so long are still with us.
So we write out of grief, but also out of frustration and anger, that the most deeply rooted evils of our society — white supremacy, systematic racial injustice, racially-biased policing, and historic oppression — have led again to murder. We mourn George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Laquan McDonald, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Amadou Diallo, Tamir Rice, Nina Pop, Elijah McClain, De'Von Bailey, and countless other, all-too-often unnamed members of the Black community, Black immigrant community, and Black transgender community.
We at RMIAN also stand in awe of the inspiring solidarity that has emerged in recent days. In the midst of a pandemic, people bravely stand together against the generational and structural inequality that continuously debases the value of Black lives, including the lives of Black immigrants. People stand together to decry police violence against the many throughout the country who courageously demand justice. This moment makes crystal clear the urgency of investing in Black, immigrant and indigenous communities. It is long overdue to take seriously the urgent need to support housing, education, healthcare, and other essentials to recover from centuries of oppression.
From RMIAN’s work as an organization that stands and works for justice — and for the idea that justice for immigrants is justice for all — we know how a high proportion of Black immigrants are deported as a result of overpolicing in our communities. We know that the “national security” and “public safety” justifications used by police, ICE, and CBP are often just smokescreens for racially-driven surveillance of the marginalized, the underserved, and the undercounted.
And we know that although this is a moment of profound sadness, it is also a moment for real action that starts by affirming that RMIAN stands in solidarity with the Black community. Especially important is the work of Black Lives Matter and sister organizations, including Black Lives Matter 5280, to make justice out of injustice.
In RMIAN’s fight to uplift, honor, and value the contributions Black people have made in this country, we also recognize that as individuals and an organization we can do more to show up for Black communities. And so we urge you to join us in taking actions like these:
Sign this petition by Color of Change calling for the end of police violence against Black people
See these anti-racism resources
Complete your Census form and encourage everyone you know to do the same
Vote and sign up to get out the vote
And consider supporting and donating to those at the front lines of this current fight:
We will not stop until we have a country and a world where, truly, Black Lives Matter. Let’s together help bring to life the words of George Floyd’s daughter Gianna, “DADDY CHANGED THE WORLD!”
--RMIAN Staff Members & Board of Directors, June 3, 2020