Washington, DC – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) is outraged and saddened by the murder of Jordan Edwards, a Black teenager, at the hands of another police officer in April, and by this week’s announcement that the Justice Department (DOJ) would not file federal charges against the police officers responsible for the murder of Alton Sterling last July. APALA continues to condemn the deep-seeded racism and violence endemic in our criminal justice system, and remains committed to organizing alongside #BlackLivesMatter and the Movement for Black Lives.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Jordan Edwards and Alton Sterling,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “There is no justice for Black lives. We cannot stop paying attention or forget to remember this pattern of state-sponsored violence against Black and Brown people.”
Gregory A. Cendana, APALA Executive Director, added: “The DOJ’s announcement is deeply disappointing and is indicative of the way Attorney General Jeff Sessions will continue to run the department. We live in a scary time where justice is swept under the carpet, where white supremacists have been emboldened to act with violence, where money is time and again put over the dignity and respect of real people.”
“From the death of Srinivas Kuchibhotla to Edward Crawford, another Ferguson activist who was just found dead, this struggle for freedom – for our bodies, for our lives – is all connected,” concluded Hester. “Sandra Bland. Philando Castile. Eric Garner. Freddie Gray. Akai Gurley. Michael Brown. We carry their names every day because we work, live, breathe in a society that was not made for us. With an administration that devalues the diverse people we are and that continues to protect the white status quo, we need to resist, organize, and fight back more than ever.”
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Jordan Edwards and Alton Sterling,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “There is no justice for Black lives. We cannot stop paying attention or forget to remember this pattern of state-sponsored violence against Black and Brown people.”
Gregory A. Cendana, APALA Executive Director, added: “The DOJ’s announcement is deeply disappointing and is indicative of the way Attorney General Jeff Sessions will continue to run the department. We live in a scary time where justice is swept under the carpet, where white supremacists have been emboldened to act with violence, where money is time and again put over the dignity and respect of real people.”
“From the death of Srinivas Kuchibhotla to Edward Crawford, another Ferguson activist who was just found dead, this struggle for freedom – for our bodies, for our lives – is all connected,” concluded Hester. “Sandra Bland. Philando Castile. Eric Garner. Freddie Gray. Akai Gurley. Michael Brown. We carry their names every day because we work, live, breathe in a society that was not made for us. With an administration that devalues the diverse people we are and that continues to protect the white status quo, we need to resist, organize, and fight back more than ever.”
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| no_justice_for_black_lives.pdf |
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