In the wake of the government lynching of George Floyd, people across the country have been lifting their voices against systemic racism and institutionalized murder. And instead of standing up as a leader, Trump has continued to tweet racist and inflammatory slogans, inciting the same torch-bearing racists he championed in Charlottesville; they’re now infiltrating peaceful protests across the country to bring violence and chaos.  

Make no mistake: Trump and his enablers are using all the tools at their disposal to silence the voices calling for an end to systemic racism and inequity. What we are seeing everywhere is the direct result of a massive and long-standing systemic failure. So-called leaders in Washington and in state capitals across the country have delayed, deferred and obstructed the real, structural change we know at our core is needed. 

Black lives matter. We stand with the Black Lives Matter Movement and against racism and violence. We stand for the right of people to peacefully organize and protest. We demand justice for George Floyd and all people of color who have been brutalized and murdered. 

We echo the demands of the Black Lives Matter Movement for real transformation of a fundamentally corrupt and unjust system, “transformation that will hold law enforcement accountable for the violence they inflict, transformation of this racist system that breeds corruption, and transformation that ensures our people are not left behind.”

We demand justice for communities of color across the United States that have been subject to institutionalized inequality that has come in so many forms. Militarized police forces are unleashed on communities of color. The racial inequities that have historically burdened black and brown communities are allowing COVID-19 to sicken and kill black and brown people in wildly disproportionate numbers; the devastating economic impact of the mismanaged pandemic has been felt most strongly in communities of color. And the effects of climate change are magnified in communities of color, where corporations are polluting with impunity because they think no one cares.

At Food & Water Watch we focus our work where we know we can make a real-world difference. We fight for clean water, safe food and a livable climate. But more than that, we work with people across the country to help them organize to reclaim power. We fight for the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of people to speak, to assemble and to petition their government for the redress of grievances. 

Supporters of Food & Water Watch know that at our core, we fight for justice for all, human dignity and economic fairness. We know that our democracy and institutions have been corrupted and compromised by powerful corporations who control the levers of government power.

People across the country are standing up and we’re standing with them. Together, we’re making it clear: enough is enough. To create a safe, just and equitable future, we must stand up for the dignity of black and brown people now.

We stand with communities everywhere in demanding a new set of priorities. Instead of funding weapons of war, we should rebuild and invest in our communities, especially black and brown communities that have been systematically brutalized. Instead of further militarizing the police, we should prosecute those who would murder in the name of the law. Instead of giving a free hand to corporations, we should adopt just policies that will create true justice and equity. 

Organizing, mobilizing, reclaiming power – these are the tools we use to help people across the county fight not only climate change, but institutionalized inequality, oppression and violence. This is what Trump and those who helped build a racist and inequitable system fear most. We will not be silenced.