Three Days of Violence: Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas
This week has been a hard one for all of us and a telling one for the country.
On Tuesday, it was the murder of Alton Sterling at the hands of white police officers in Louisiana. On Wednesday, it was the slaying of Philando Castile in Minnesota.
Both were grim reminders of how little progress we've made since Michael Brown was killed by a white police officer in Ferguson nearly two years ago.
And then yesterday, five Dallas police officers were killed in what appears to be a misguided act to even the score (read our full statement on Dallas).
That was a reminder of what Dr. King often said: "Violence begets violence; hate begets hate; and toughness begets a greater toughness. It is all a descending spiral, and the end is destruction — for everybody. Along the way of life, someone must have enough sense and morality to cut off the chain of hate."
That "someone" is every one of us, every person in our country who believes that black lives matter and that the time for action, and not just soul searching, is now.
Throughout our country's history, people of color have been marginalized, exploited, and brutalized.
That's why our work lifting up the dignity of every person and fighting for equal opportunity and equal justice is so important. And that is why it is so important for us to resolve to continue the work in the face of the week's news.
The march for justice must go on.
Cover Photo: Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
