100 signatures reached
To: Jamestown Town Council, Jamestown Police Department, Jamestown Public Schools, The Jamestown Press, and our RI state legislators, among others
Jamestown, RI for Black Lives
The brutal, racist murders of black Americans like Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade, which sparked earth-shaking, worldwide protests in recent weeks, have pulled back the veil on the virulent racism embedded deep in our nation.
This moment demands that we critically examine ourselves, identifying and extracting the ways in which we as individuals and as a community uphold racist systems.
The fact that Jamestown, RI is a predominantly white, relatively wealthy town does not absolve us of the obligation to act against racism and police brutality. We cannot tune out the injustice around us. Our neighbors in Newport spoke out in early June with a protest that was thousands strong, and communities across the state have seen similar demonstrations of solidarity. It is incumbent upon our island community to join in the call for systemic change.
This moment demands that we critically examine ourselves, identifying and extracting the ways in which we as individuals and as a community uphold racist systems.
The fact that Jamestown, RI is a predominantly white, relatively wealthy town does not absolve us of the obligation to act against racism and police brutality. We cannot tune out the injustice around us. Our neighbors in Newport spoke out in early June with a protest that was thousands strong, and communities across the state have seen similar demonstrations of solidarity. It is incumbent upon our island community to join in the call for systemic change.
Why is this important?
Those of us with privilege must use our platforms to speak up and stand up for our black and brown siblings whose livelihoods are threatened by violent racism. This conversation desperately needs to happen everywhere -- including and especially in quiet, wealthy, predominantly white communities like Jamestown.
We are fortunate to live in a kindhearted, close-knit island town, peaceful by design and by luck. But justice and peace depend on each other. Without true justice, there can be no true peace. And as long as black Americans continue to be systematically robbed of both, we must heed the moral obligation to disrupt our own uneasy peace and to speak out. This will require grappling with discomfort, fear, and shame. But the end result - justice - will be more than worth it.
The commitments made here are deliberately broad, intended to herald the coming change we will pursue. Accordingly, Jamestown for Justice will follow up to support the development of a specific anti-racist agenda.
By signing this statement, you call for Jamestown to come together as a unified front, not only against racism itself, but actively in pursuit of anti-racism. This is only the beginning. The road before us is long, and it will be challenging to navigate. But we are stronger as a unified community, and will be able to make more significant progress than any one of us could on our own.
So let us be loud and clear as we say, as proud Jamestowners: Black Lives Matter.
We are fortunate to live in a kindhearted, close-knit island town, peaceful by design and by luck. But justice and peace depend on each other. Without true justice, there can be no true peace. And as long as black Americans continue to be systematically robbed of both, we must heed the moral obligation to disrupt our own uneasy peace and to speak out. This will require grappling with discomfort, fear, and shame. But the end result - justice - will be more than worth it.
The commitments made here are deliberately broad, intended to herald the coming change we will pursue. Accordingly, Jamestown for Justice will follow up to support the development of a specific anti-racist agenda.
By signing this statement, you call for Jamestown to come together as a unified front, not only against racism itself, but actively in pursuit of anti-racism. This is only the beginning. The road before us is long, and it will be challenging to navigate. But we are stronger as a unified community, and will be able to make more significant progress than any one of us could on our own.
So let us be loud and clear as we say, as proud Jamestowners: Black Lives Matter.