“One year ago today, two white supremacists shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, an innocent Black man who was jogging down a road in Glynn County, Georgia.
In America, Black lives are cut short for wearing a hoodie, attending church, buying iced-tea, being at home, and jogging outside, in Arbery’s case. The unspeakable injustice that took the life of Ahmaud Arbery not only sparked nation-wide peaceful protests, but ignited a new era in the movement for civil rights.
As the nation mourned, strategized and organized, the NAACP launched We Are Done Dying, a campaign calling for an end to racial violence and domestic terrorism. Ahmaud Arbery did not die in vain, and the fight for his justice is far from over.
A year following his senseless murder, we continue to see white supremacy on the rise. From the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of police to the white supremacist-led Capitol insurrection on January 6th, and now the CDC’s life expectancy of Black Americans dropping more than three times that of white Americans, innocent Black lives continue to be disproportionately and inhumanly taken every single day.
So I call upon Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and restore the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Ultimately, this will pave the way forward for a more just and equitable America — an America where white supremacy is met with fierce intolerance from all levels of government and from society as a whole.
Black Lives Matter. Ahmaud Arbery’s life matters. Today and every day, say his name.”
The post NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson, Releases Statement on Anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery’s Death appeared first on NAACP.
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