A Moment of Reckoning

This weekend, thousands of Chicagoans came together from across the city, in anguish and anger, to decry the horrific brutality perpetrated against George Floyd. The protests were catalyzed by a single incident, but they were driven by a long and terrible history of profound and systematic violence against, and disinvestment in, communities of color since at least the founding of this country.

This is a moment of reckoning for our city and our nation. Now is not a time for half measures. We must be resolute in our actions.

At BPI, we commit to working with our community partners to double down on our efforts to dismantle systems that oppress, deny, and threaten the Black community and other communities of color. We are working to combat segregation in housing, to advocate for decarceration, to address inequities in early learning, and – particularly salient to this moment – to create the structural change needed to allow communities to hold police accountable. With intention, we must act with urgency to do more.

We will work to ensure that our city and state act with urgency, too. Leaders must immediately implement long-term solutions to address structural racism in our criminal justice system. The City of Chicago must move without delay to make transformational changes to give communities a voice in how they are policed. Our communities of color have borne the brunt of our badly broken Chicago Police Department for too long, and we cannot afford to wait any longer to build the trust and accountability so critically needed for true peace and justice in our communities.

Our communities and our city, like so many across the country, are hurting. Today, BPI recommits to our pursuit of “A Just Society,” working in solidarity with our community partners to address the entrenched institutional practices that have led us to this moment.

We, in partnership with many of you, are ready to continue the work and take it even further, now more than ever.