The United States has recently been thrown into intense turmoil after the police murder of a black man named George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protests have raged in cities across the United States, and during many of these protests, police officers have employed the exact same kind of violent harassment of civilians that sparked the demonstrations in the first place. As tension builds, former President Barack Obama spoke out this week with a carefully crafted outline of a plan for the road ahead. Imagine if the U.S. currently had a president who even tried to have a sense of the road ahead in the first place.
Obama shared on Twitter:
‘I wrote out some thoughts on how to make this moment a real turning point to bring about real change––and pulled together some resources to help young activists sustain the momentum by channeling their energy into concrete action.’
I wrote out some thoughts on how to make this moment a real turning point to bring about real change––and pulled together some resources to help young activists sustain the momentum by channeling their energy into concrete action. https://t.co/jEczrOeFdv
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
"Let’s do this another way. Let's stop thinking our voice don’t matter and vote. Not just for the president…educate yourself and know who you’re voting for. And that’s how we're going to hit 'em." https://t.co/WX6oLNRtI2
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
I know the past few months have been hard and dispiriting. But watching the heightened activism of young people makes me hopeful. And if we can keep channeling our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, this can be the moment when real change starts.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
If you want to take concrete action, but you’re not sure how, we’ve created a site to connect you with useful resources and organizations who’ve been fighting the good fight at the local and national levels for years. https://t.co/2KcB4T3b0I
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
1. The protests represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system. We should condemn the few who resort to violence––not the overwhelming majority who deserve our respect and support.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
2. The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable. But eventually, we have to translate those aspirations into specific laws and institutional practices.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
3. To do that, we have to know which levels of government have the biggest impact. Changing the federal government is important. But the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2020
He included a link to an article that he wrote that outlines some key points that he believes are important for activists to keep in mind as they grapple with the death of George Floyd and the many other instances of systematic police brutality and racism around the country. Obama’s key points included the importance of sticking to a strong moral code and the importance of voting, especially in often underappreciated local elections that frequently decide who’s going to be on the actual front lines of government policing policy. He also noted the importance of careful strategizing in order to form demands that are as specific as possible. The specificity helps ensure, he noted, that officials can’t just offer lip service to the cause and then retreat.
‘I recognize that these past few months have been hard and dispiriting — that the fear, sorrow, uncertainty, and hardship of a pandemic have been compounded by tragic reminders that prejudice and inequality still shape so much of American life. But watching the heightened activism of young people in recent weeks, of every race and every station, makes me hopeful. If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals. Let’s get to work.’
The contrast between that perspective and the inane nonsense from the current presidential administration couldn’t be more striking.
Check out Twitter’s response below:
