Advertisement

Read Barack Obama’s powerful post on the George Floyd protests

Today, June 1st, former President Barack Obama released a statement about George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police officer Derek Chavin and the nationwide protests that are currently taking place as a result. He wrote about specific steps for all of us to effect change and resources we can use to help.

“As millions of people across the country take to the streets and raise their voices in response to the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing problem of unequal justice, many people have reached out asking how we can sustain momentum to bring about real change,” Obama began in a post via the Medium platform. “Ultimately, it’s going to be up to a new generation of activists to shape strategies that best fit the times. But I believe there are some basic lessons to draw from past efforts that are worth remembering.”

He stated that the widespread protest of unjust police brutality against Black Americans is “a decades-long failure to reform police practices” and the U.S. criminal justice system. However, he urged protesters to remain peaceful and non-violent, no matter how angry they are.

“If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves,” Obama wrote.

He also stressed the importance of using your vote to enact change on top of protest. “The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable,” Obama wrote, adding, “in fact, throughout American history, it’s often only been in response to protests and civil disobedience that the political system has even paid attention to marginalized communities.”

“But eventually,” he continued, “aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices—and in a democracy, that only happens when we elect government officials who are responsive to our demands.”

Education on which branches of government can improve the criminal justice system is key to making change happen, Obama said. Yes, it’s important to focus on the federal level of government. However, “the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal just system work at the state and local levels,” he wrote, meaning this reform has to start at the ground level, with the voters themselves.

“If we want to bring about real change,” Obama continues, “then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both.

Obama concluded his statement with a call to action for those who are upset with the current status quo in the U.S. to get specific about what we want regarding criminal justice and police from our elected officials. The more specific we get, “the harder it will be for elected officials to just offer lip service to the cause and then fall back into business as usual once protests have gone away,” he wrote.

The former president then listed resources we can use to stay informed and educated on how each of us can play a part in this fight—the New Era of Public Safety report and toolkit as well as the Obama Foundation Anguish and Action resource portal.

View this post on Instagram

I want to share parts of the conversations I’ve had with friends over the past couple days about the footage of George Floyd dying face down on the street under the knee of a police officer in Minnesota.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ The first is an email from a middle-aged African American businessman.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ “Dude I gotta tell you the George Floyd incident in Minnesota hurt. I cried when I saw that video. It broke me down. The ‘knee on the neck’ is a metaphor for how the system so cavalierly holds black folks down, ignoring the cries for help. People don’t care. Truly tragic.”⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Another friend of mine used the powerful song that went viral from 12-year-old Keedron Bryant to describe the frustrations he was feeling.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ The circumstances of my friend and Keedron may be different, but their anguish is the same. It’s shared by me and millions of others.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ It’s natural to wish for life “to just get back to normal” as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly “normal” – whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ This shouldn’t be “normal” in 2020 America. It can’t be “normal.” If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ It will fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done. But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station – including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day – to work together to create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.

A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on May 29, 2020 at 9:08am PDT

“I recognize that these past few months have been hard and dispiriting…” Obama wrote. “But watching the heightened activism of young people in recent weeks, of every race and every station, makes me hopeful. If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals.”

As Obama signed off, “Let’s get to work.” Check out Obama’s full statement here, and feel free to browse the resources he provided to start working toward a better America.