Jamaica Plain Progressives commemorates Juneteenth by mourning the most recent victims of police brutality, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and countless others. We ask our membership not only to grieve, but also to organize and ally themselves with organizations at the forefront of local anti-racism work. That Juneteenth is not an official holiday underscores our country’s failure to face our history of slavery and its racist legacy. We call on our membership to work actively for racial justice.
Most of our members are not directly affected by police violence, and many of us benefit in obvious and subtle ways from a system that privileges whiteness and wealth.
It is important now more than ever to ask our white members to not only show up, but also to step back. This means that we will actively take our cues from our neighbors throughout the city who have been engaged in this work for a long time and from groups led by people suffering under our current systems of institutionalized racism.
We encourage our community to listen closely to the demands of these local groups, to act when they ask for action, to support them without taking space away from them, and to look critically at the ways in which we all uphold white supremacy.
The #DefundBostonCops coalition:
- Muslim Justice League
- Families for Justice as Healing
- Young Abolitionists
- Mijente
- Asian American Resource Workshop
- Kavod
- Youth Justice and Power Union
- Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project
- The City School
- Alternatives for Community and Environment
Mass Action Against Police Brutality
Black Lives Matter Boston
….
Remember that it is important to seize the momentum but that this work is long haul. If you are feeling overwhelmed, lost, or seeking internal guidance (especially as it relates to white supremacy and your place in structural racism), we encourage you to connect with SURJ Boston.
In Solidarity,
JPP Steering Committee
