Use The Pain To Push Forward

A Statement In Response To The Tragic Loss Of George Floyd

By Todd M. Turner // Graphic Lukas Carlson - Digital Painting

Todd M. Turner is Chair of the Prince George’s County Council

Prince George’s County Council Chair Todd M. Turner

The Prince George’s County Council grieves with the family and loved ones of George Floyd, the latest victim of deadly racial brutality and violence caused by those sworn to protect our communities.  But our heartbreak and prayers for peace alone are not enough.

We should all be horrified by what occurred in Minneapolis with the murder of George Floyd, and by the continued injustices targeting and killing African-Americans and other people of color, including Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, William Green and others.

We must fight even harder for equality and speak even more loudly to common humanity and civility. This Council recommits to our firm stand against every form of hate and violence. As part of our call for justice, we will continue our critical work in Prince George’s County, to achieve criminal justice reform and police accountability.

We welcome and appreciate the determined protestors who give a voice to the unspeakable pain we all feel.   However, we urge the strong but peaceful voices and actions of dissent. We do not and cannot support those who have chosen to direct their anger to destruction, violence, and chaos.

To ensure change, our pain must be used to move us forward, not tear us backward.

Each of us must work together to change the broken systems that for too long have resisted change. Only together, working with those who yearn for justice and equality, can we be the change we are expressing as a nation.