A message from Board Chair, Susan Grant

By Susan Grant, Board Chair

If we want peace, we — the White people in positions of leadership and power — need to understand what it takes to get us to peace.

First, it is admitting that the criminal justice system is unjust. We — the White people in positions of leadership and power — need to take action and change it.

We have never explicitly said that the system which we created is broken and at fault. We have occasionally blamed and reprimanded individuals, and then we have carried on as if we’ve fixed the bigger problem.

We must agree that we cannot accept ‘business as usual.’ The status quo is doing grievous harm. It is unacceptable for people of color, Black people in particular, to have to justify every action they take in order to go to work, shop, stand outside a store, play music, sleep, drive, etc. It is NOT ok for the police/law enforcement to have carte blanche and control over our streets and neighborhoods. We must forbid, prohibit and punish those law enforcement individuals who do not agree. For those leading police/law enforcement departments and think they can continue to needlessly harass, bully, and kill Black people, they must lose their jobs. Today. Not in 30 days after an independent review. Not in 60 days after a Justice Department review. White people, stop passing the buck. You’ve seen the video. You’re outraged. AND you have the power to take action — use your power and take action.

White people who believe that all people are human beings share in the outrage, hurt and disgust, while recognizing that the unjust criminal justice system gives us a pass. WE do not worry when our sons or husbands or brothers are living in America. WE have the secret code that allows us free access to go anywhere we want to go. And so WE must acknowledge this, and WE must give the secret code to everyone, so there is no longer a secret code. The world is big enough for all of us to live in it with the same freedoms, rights and responsibilities. What are WE so afraid of that we would cast aside over and over and over the very principles that WE say WE hold as sacrosanct? WE are either lying to ourselves, lying to others, or believing in some other set of principles. WE are saying one thing and doing another. Let’s get honest. LET’S STOP bullshitting.

If you want people to believe and trust you, you must be worthy of their trust. 

I am so mad at the stubborn insistence of White leaders and men in positions of power who choose not to do something that benefits others. I am mad that these leaders refuse to admit to a legacy of shameful, violent and discriminatory laws and behaviors. Their ability to look away from what is really happening and to only see the little meaningless parts of the big picture is infuriating. Could you please, please, please just stop it? 

Every person in elected office, every person running a law enforcement department, every person in this system — please hold yourself and your colleagues accountable. DO NOT ALLOW your colleague — with his hands resting in his pockets — to pin down another human, ignoring the outcry from citizens, while YOU do NOTHING. NOTHING is no longer an option. You’ve used up all your “DO NOTHING” cards.