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Rest In Power George Floyd
Posted on May 29 2020
We continue to mourn with our community: both the unspeakable tragedy of the killing of George Floyd and the destruction that has touched so many of us. ILCM director Veena Iyer wrote in a letter to staff:
“I found myself repeatedly coming back to the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over the past week and as I drafted this email. As Dr. King stated, America has ‘failed to hear the plight’ of our Black and brown communities. ‘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. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay.’ Dr. King’s analysis of riots has become ubiquitous in the last few days because it is so frustratingly and unconscionably true 50 years later….
“I am deeply saddened by the senseless killing of George Floyd and also by the destruction that has happened across the Twin Cities. The loss of buildings and businesses is difficult, but even more so the loss of what the buildings represent. Lake Street and University Avenue are the lifelines of so many communities of color, particularly our immigrant and refugee communities, and the property damage over the last few days represent the losses of years of equity built up by immigrant business owners and small businesses that feed and clothe their neighborhoods. I am hopeful that the damage to our building was merely cosmetic, but I recognize that Community Action—which owns the building and provides vital resources to the community—has limited resources and will now have to expend some of those resources on fixing the building instead of helping the people who need it most.
“The destruction must end, but the fight for justice cannot and will not stop. As Dr. King said, ‘Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.’ I take great solace in being part of a team that is fiercely and unabashedly committed to fighting for justice for all.”