We are hurt and angered by Daunte Wright’s death at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota on Sunday, April 11. Daunte’s murder tells the same story of broken policing and law enforcement systems throughout our country that continue to ravage Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities, and take the lives of the very individuals the police are sworn to protect.
The most recent documented and publicized police killings that have taken place in Chicago include a 13-year-old, a father and husband, and too many other Black and Latinx people. These deaths are one of the more painful reminders of the pervasive and insidious nature of systemic racism and the irrefutable proof of racism throughout our criminal justice system.
At least 213 people have been killed by police in 2021 alone — in less than four months, in the middle of a pandemic, 213 lives have been lost at the hands of systems whose stated mission is protection.
That is unjust, and until justice is served, we will continue to fight. We will mourn the untimely deaths of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) over and over again. We will keep fighting against the cycle of inaction when it comes to Black lives, to trans lives, to Latinx lives, to disabled people’s lives. We will keep holding each other and turning our anger and rage into the fuel that fires us every time we hear about another life lost at the hands of white supremacy and racism.
AFC fights for change that centers the needs and demands of BIPOC communities. We support deeply transformative approaches to achieving justice and equity. We look to BIPOC leadership to guide the work and listen to their voices to lead the conversations around dismantling white supremacy. We encourage our network to support Daunte’s son and girlfriend through this difficult time.
