June 10, 2020 — The Wallace Center unequivocally denounces and condemns the brutal murder of George Floyd by several of the members of the Minneapolis Police Department and the trauma it has continuously inflicted on the city’s Black community.
The Wallace Center team, like most of the country, has been watching the crisis in Minneapolis unfold over the past week with a mix of anger and sadness. Yet another Black life has been senselessly and tragically taken. The tragedy of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a public servant is a stark reminder of the reprehensible and institutionalized injustices that have plagued Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities for generations. Just before Memorial Day, we publicly grieved the murder of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Before them, so many others. #SayTheirNames
We will never achieve economic, environmental and social justice without first achieving racial justice. We must, without falter or fail, dismantle the pervasive systems of racial capitalism that grip this country. Denying, minimizing, or attempting to rationalize institutional violence and discrimination against Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities perpetuates violence and deepens generational trauma. Full recovery and healing are not possible until those with privilege and power acknowledge America’s history of racism and their role in its perpetuation. White folks must commit to their uncomfortable yet necessary work of confronting white supremacy, dismantling racism, and shifting power to Indigenous, Black and Brown leadership.
The true path to peace and reconciliation must be paved with justice for all people. We at the Wallace Center commit ourselves to forging that path through our work in building more equitable farming and food systems. We look to the leadership of organizations and communities on the frontlines of this struggle to hold us accountable to this commitment.
