The Antelope Valley branch of the NAACP released a statement strongly condemning the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minn. police officer.
“The California/Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP is genuinely disturbed at how institutional racism—and lack of seeing African-Americans as human beings—has led to the death of yet another individual at the hands of the police.
“What is happening right now is nothing new, relative to the treatment of African-Americans. This treatment occurs both in policing and in the professional world. We live in an era where Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was killed for simply jogging. The recent death of George Floyd is what’s currently causing the protests. However, things such as Amy Cooper’s threat to Christian Cooper in New York’s Central Park also fit into the larger national dialogue on racism.
“Clearly institutional racism and attacks on African-Americans are not slowing down. Enough if enough, and we demand that those responsible for continuing to be the purveyors of institutional racism remove their collective ‘knee from our neck’ and allow the African-American community to continue to breathe, grow and flourish.
“The California/Hawaii NAACP is calling for:
- The arrest of, and federal and state charges for the additional three officers in the case of George Floyd. Additionally, we call for all four officers to be charged with first degree murder.
- Local police departments and local governments must help with the removal of White supremacists and other provocateurs, who are intentionally causing issues, in our peaceful protests.
- Desertification of all police officers on the Brady List (compiled by prosecutors/law enforcement entities of officers accused of continued misconduct).
- Automatic process to place all dishonest and unethical police officers on the Brady List.
- Individuals on the Brady list statewide to be made public and more easily accessible for the public.
- Creation of a law that prevents police officers from shooting unarmed peaceful protesters who have their hands up.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom to create a commission to explore the issues we have identified above, in addition to other related issues which are plaguing the African-American community in California.”
