Rubicon Stands Alongside our Partners in Demanding Justice

Rubicon stands with our allies at the local, regional, and national levels in demanding an end to unjust and racially motivated actions by law enforcement officers. For hundreds of years, state sponsored entities and private citizens have been executing Black men, women, and children. In May 2020 alone, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Tony McDade -- as well as others whose killings did not make the national news -- joined that awful legacy. State sanctioned violence includes not only the actions of police, but also national guard, jails and prisons, and other public institutions charged with public protection.

We demand justice for those whose lives have been cut short. They could have been a Rubicon participant, employee, or a member of our Board of Directors. Our African American participants carry daily the trauma of being African American in a nation where their very identity makes them vulnerable to being the target of violence. We talk with participants in our workshops about structural causes of poverty – that we live in a nation founded on white supremacy and systems of inequality.

COVID’s disparate and traumatic impact on Black people and other people of color is a current manifestation of the structural racism that tolerates state sanctioned violence against people of color. We are unwilling to perpetuate the national disregard for African American lives and senseless killings of our citizens, the very people upon whose backs and free labor this country was built. We demand the same right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for African Americans that White people continue to enjoy. These should not be privileges for some; these are rights for all.

Just as we do not condone this nation’s historical looting -- the First Nation’s people and land, African American bodies for labor, or African American ideas without credit -- we do not condone violence as a means to any end. And, we amplify Dr. King’s forewarning that “A riot is the language of the unheard.”

Rubicon's unwavering commitment to justice and equity fuels our responsibility to use our collective voice. We will galvanize our communities to engage in the electoral process to directly impact local, state, and national policies and priorities. We urge elected officials to hold accountable law enforcement officers and criminal justice systems that engage in unlawful and unjust practices.

Join us in these actions:

1. Sign cards to the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade. You can send a message of support here, until this Friday, June 5th at 12 noon.
2. Consistent with our value of humility, we urge you to support actions by our power building partners.

• RYSE -- immediate action to protect funding for services to children and youth in Richmond. Contact the Richmond City Council today to advocate that they preserve funding for Kids First (Vote NO on Agenda Item J-3).
• Safe Return Project -- formerly incarcerated residents working to strengthen the relationship of people coming home from incarceration with the broader community. Join Safe Return Project Thursday, June 4th, 2 pm PST for #blackhurtmatters a Call to Action convened by those impacted by criminalization, violence, and Faith Leaders.

We are grateful to you, our community, for joining us in advocating for changes to build a society that lives up to its stated value of justice. May we all have safety, health, and wellness during this especially painful time.