I can’t breathe.
George Floyd can’t breathe.
Breonna Taylor can’t breathe.
Ahmaud Arbery can’t breathe.
Black Lives Matter.
Enough is enough. In the midst of a deadly virus that is disproportionately killing Black and Brown people, we must endure yet another public lynching and another act of state-sponsored terror. We are horrified to see widespread violence committed against the protests that are rising up against this injustice. We would say enough is enough, but we all have had enough a long time ago.
The time to fight is long overdue. We have no choice but to fight now. We stand on the side of justice. Across our organizations, we have fought for equality at work and in our communities; we will not stop fighting now.
If we believe that Black Lives Matter, then our community, our city, Yale University, and Yale New Haven Hospital must commit to building a different type of city. We must commit to ending our ugly history of segregated development. We must insist that all of our residents can live lives of freedom. This is freedom from police violence and state oppression. But this is also freedom to live without unnecessary suffering and burdens. Enough with a knee on Black necks for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and enough with a knee on Black necks for centuries. No one can rest until we can all breathe.