Dear Sisters and Brothers
These past weeks have been times of uncertainty and sorrow. We saw how Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, 2 unarmed black men, were shot and killed by police officers in Baton Rouge and in Minneapolis. We saw how 5 police officers were killed in Dallas. Our hearts grieve with the families of the victims. These tragic deaths will become meaningless unless we all take action to dismantle the systemic racism that pervades our society.
It’s painful enough to see the economic violence perpetrated on working people. One in five children in the United States live below the federal poverty line, and this disproportionately affects people of color. On top of this systemic poverty, it’s painful to hear black and brown parents talk about how they live in a constant state of fear for their son’s and daughter’s lives. Black males between the ages of 15 and 34 were nine times more likely to be killed by police officers than any other demographic. This group also accounted for 15 percent of all deaths from law enforcement encounters in 2015, despite making up just 2 percent of the U.S. population. It is so surreal that all this is happening where we live, in the richest and most powerful country in the world.
I am a Latino immigrant. I deeply feel the pain of brown families. But the only way we will find justice is if we stand up against the worst injustices being perpetrated in our society, that is why we must all join in saying that black lives matter. If we are to truly make a change in our society we must be part of the change. It is time to say enough is enough and fight to end to structural racism.
As Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero said,
“Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism.
Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.”
This is how I feel, but, how do you feel? How does all this affect us at home, in our communities and at work? How does this affect SEIU Local 99 members and our families? How can we play a role in dismantling structural racism?
I invite you to join SEIU members on a telephone town hall for all of us to reflect and discuss recent tragedies and to begin to process and connect these events to the structures of racial inequality and anti-Black racism that influence politics, our culture, our jobs and our future.
Please join us on Monday, August 1 for one of these Telephone Town Halls
Dial 855-269-4484 to join any of these calls
12:00 PM Spanish language
3:00 PM English language
5:00 PM English language
In Unity,
Max Arias, SEIU Local 99 Executive Director
