AAUP-AFT Rutgers
by People of Color Caucus, Executive Council of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT
June 2020
We condemn the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, grieve with their families and community, and stand in solidarity with their calls for justice. As educators and scholars proudly serving the diverse communities of New Jersey, we are acutely aware of the toll that systemic, state-sponsored violence takes on our own union membership and the students for whom we are responsible. We are following up on the Rutgers AAUP-AFT Executive Council statement on Monday with this call to action.
Last Monday, we awoke to horrible news of the police, once again, brutally murdering an African American person. As three other law enforcement officers participated, Derek Chauvin, of the Minneapolis Police Department, killed George Floyd by placing his knee on Floyd’s neck and suffocating him. Among his last words were “I can’t breathe,” a cry that has become all too common to victims of racialized state violence in the United States. Similarly, on March 13th, officers from the Louisville Police Department — armed with a “no-knock” warrant and battering ram — broke into the home of Breonna Taylor without identifying themselves. They shot Taylor eight times and killed her; she had been studying to be an emergency room technician. To stop these violent, premature deaths, we stand together with a broad coalition to demand that all of the officers who perpetrated these brutal killings of black men, women, and non-binary people be held accountable.