It is with an unfortunate kind of clarity that we express our outrage yet again as our status as persons of color in the United States has forced us to be witnesses of yet another young black person become a Martyr for our community. This injustice is egregious, inhumane, and traumatizing for our community and we at NCOBPS hope that we all can continue to turn to our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and organizers for solidarity in continuing the marathon to establish systems of governance for the betterment of us all.
Anti-blackness is a plague and we will continue to stand against violence towards our community. Along with our respected partners in the Black Millenials for Flint, the Austin Justice Coalition, the African American Mayors Association, the Civil Rights Museum, the National Association of Black Journalists, The National Black Sisters Conference, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the Movement for Black Lives, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Communications Workers of America, the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, and elected officials across the political spectrum including Illinois Elected Officials, Philadelphia City and Community Leaders, Los Angeles Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and President Joe Biden we call on legislators at the state and local levels to use their collective power to pass criminal justice reform. We also reaffirm our commitment to racial justice and Black liberation and urge our members to continue to engage in community activism, scholarly discourse, and racially conscious mentoring. It should come as no surprise that these instances of police violence that have been inflicted on Black people disproportionately bring us great sadness. In the face of these structures that are designed to harm us we are determined to stand in solidarity with the family of Mr. Tyre Nichols.
We are the massive majority who are taking responsibility to end this scourge against human dignity and personhood. Peace is a practice that requires study, listening, reflection, and choosing to fight against physical, emotional, mental, and institutional violence against Black people. In the wake of Tyre Nichols murder at the hands of Black law enforcement officers, many have used this instance to suggest that this is unrelated to anti-Blackness. Nothing could be further from the truth, given that the race of the person detained determines more about their likelihood of facing maltreatment–regardless of the race of the officers. The Memphis, Rochester, Portland, Roanoke, and Tuscaloosa branches of the NAACP (among others) are continuing the work that they have done for well over a century. Connect, engage, network, and organize with them so that your voice and your community can be heard. Attend to people’s hearts aching with the burden of this spectacle of violence. All of these organizations that fight for racial justice need your time, talent, and treasure. And you too need to do the work to struggle against the anti-Blackness that is a core operation of the modern world. None of us can fight anti-Blackness alone; just like peace, it requires wise community and practice and a proper understanding of our history and its relationship to power.
We send our deepest condolences to the Family of Tyre Nichols. May his beautiful spirit rest peacefully.
— The National Conference of Black Political Scientists