We at Neighborhood House recognize and appreciate the court’s ruling of accountability in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, yet today is no cause for celebration. Rather, it is a time for somber remembrance of Daunte Wright and all the lives lost to unjustified police violence. It is a time to rededicate ourselves to building a community of trust, one that ensures the dignity and safety for everyone in our country.
Neighborhood House has been working with diverse communities for approximately 125 years. It is our mission to help people gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive in diverse communities and we can’t do that work if the communities we serve are systematically marginalized and living in fear.
We could not look away from the video of George Floyd’s murder last year, and we could not ignore the killing of Daunte Wright. We must ask ourselves why is this still happening? In the past few years, we’ve seen the tragic and unnecessary killings of too many — Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Justine Damond, Jamar Clark, George Floyd, and Daunte Wright — to name only a few. No amount of accountability will bring these men and women back.
With this verdict, the jury has made a declaration that all police should be held accountable for their actions and that unwarranted violence towards Black people by police is a crime.
At Neighborhood House, we recognize that a society where BIPOC lives are not valued destroys the concerted well-being of all communities. We as an organization and individuals have a responsibility to improve the general welfare of all communities, and we must stand in unity to advocate and take action when injustice occurs. Neighborhood House will continue to advocate for police accountability and for police officers to be charged with crimes when it is warranted.
Today’s verdict does not undo centuries of racial injustice, nor does it erase the traumatic events that people identifying as Black, Indigenous and people of color have faced and continue to experience. Neighborhood House can only achieve its vision of hope, opportunity and dignity for all by speaking up and working to dissemble systems designed to benefit some at the expense of many. We must, and will continue to stand together.
Sincerely,
Nancy Q. Brady
President and CEO