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Statement

Murder of Daunte Wright a Call to Action to End Police Violence

April 13, 2021
Police Reform

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Statement of leaders of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the murder of Daunte Wright by police:

“Shattering. Horrifying. Brutal. Unending. Unjust. Unacceptable. Devastating.

“There comes a point when no words can capture our sorrow and our rage, as police violence takes Black life, after Black life, after Black life. Daunte Wright is only the latest – a young man, a father, a son, a person with his whole life ahead of him. That Wright was murdered just miles from where police brutally murdered George Floyd only underscores how pervasive police violence against people of color is in our country. That Wright was murdered during the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin only compounds our trauma and our pain.

“Black people have been demanding accountability for police killings for generations. We are tired of seeing those whose lives were taken indicted, instead of justice served. We don't deserve to be the constant victims of gratuitous racial violence. We deserve to live and breath in a world where skittles, air fresheners, toys, cell phones or sleeping in your bed or opening your front door does not make you a criminal or someone whose life can be taken with no recourse or accountability.

“After the murder of Philando Castille, the state of Minnesota poured $12 million into police training but it did not save George Floyd and it did not save Daunte Wright. If we are committed to creating a world where Black Lives Matter, we must have real police accountability. We must shift resources so we invest in communities rather than extracting resources to criminalize them. The scourge of police violence must end.”

-Statement of Beatriz Beckford, National Director, Youth & Family Justice, MomsRising

“Police violence must end. The deadly mix of white supremacy and police terror must be stopped. This state-sanctioned violence tears at the fabric of our society. It cannot continue. Only when there is real accountability, when we begin to imagine safety beyond policing, will there be real change.

“The days when police can act with impunity and violate the rights and take the lives of Black and Brown people must end. America’s moms want our country to reimagine public safety, overhaul our criminal justice systems, and hold police fully accountable for every life they take or harm. Only when that happens will we have the just and healthy communities our children and families deserve.”

-Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.