Natural History Wanderings

The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers was horrific — and unfortunately predictable. Thousands of African Americans have been killed by police due to institutional racism.

The violence doesn’t begin or end with the police. Our culture of white supremacy causes African Americans to be reported to police for bird watching and murdered by racists while jogging. It causes African Americans, Latinx people and Native Americans to die of COVID-19 at much higher rates than whites. It causes them to have worse healthcare, more polluted neighborhoods, lower pay and less access to education. They suffer countless other oppressions hardly visible to those with white privilege.

The protests and riots that have spread across the country are a cry for justice. They ask us all to acknowledge the terrible, everyday danger of simply being black. They call on political leaders to bring the nation together to better understand the oppression and end it. Yet Trump has fanned the flames of racism by calling protesters “thugs” and threatening to shoot them — and this, too, was predictable.

All of us at the Center for Biological Diversity hear, and join, the call to end racism. We stand with those demanding an immediate end to police violence and racial violence of all kinds and a recognition and repudiation of white supremacy. We stand with everyone who cannot breathe.

This Fight for Justice Needs You – How to Get Involved

This is a crucial moment for seeking justice and to oppose systemic racism and police brutality across the country.

This morning the Center joined a public statement of solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives to take action to confront police violence, inequality and racism. You can join us in supporting the Movement for Black Lives’ week of action. Earlier in the week we also joined with nearly 400 other groups in calling on Congress for swift and decisive legislation to address ongoing racist killings by police across the country.

No matter who you are or where you are, there’s a place for your voice.

Here’s a list of ways to get involved.