The late Bayard Rustin once said, "Let us be enraged about injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it." We witness injustice all around us and on a Monday in late May injustice destroyed George Floyd in the streets of Minneapolis.

The video of Floyds death is horrific and terrible but not unusual in the United States. George Floyd became another victim of racially motivated police brutality which we see being repeated over and over again across the United States. It should not be a death sentence to be Black in America. Our system has failed to address this crisis of racially motivated police violence in any meaningful sense.

The National Lavender Green Caucus condemns the action by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, which resulted in the death of George Floyd. The National Lavender Green Caucus condemns the other officers on the scene, Officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng for their failure to act.

The loss of George Floyd resonates with the LGBTQIA+ community since just yesterday Tony McDade was murdered by Tallahassee police before being misgendered by the media. The most vulnerable and powerless in our society are subjected to the onslaught of police brutality which is why we stand alongside the Black community and the National Black Caucus. As Robin Harris, Co-Chair of the National Black Caucus (NBC) and Co-Chair of the Florida Green Party, says “we must build strong coalitions, advocacy groups, and elect legislators who will prioritize ending the brutal lynchings and killing of Black and Brown bodies at the hands of the government at all levels. We must hold governments and police departments accountable.”

Signed,
Cathi Woodward – Co-Chair National Lavender Green Caucus
Margaret Elisabeth – Co-Chair National Lavender Green Caucus
AJ Reed – Media Spokesperson National Lavender Green Caucus