The following statement is from Brianna Brown, Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project, in reaction to a jury finding Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan guilty in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery:
“The right and only acceptable verdict was reached today, however it will not bring back yet another young Black life violently cut short. Our hearts are with the Arbery family during this emotional and cathartic time.
“Once again, having to hold our breaths in anticipation for whether three men who hunted down a Black man in a modern-day lynching will be found guilty for their actions shows us who our legal system was built to protect, and who it is stacked against.
“Jurors saw for themselves how this sheer act of evil transpired. They witnessed white men acting as vigilantes nefariously distort ‘law’ to end the life of a Black man in broad daylight on that rural road in Georgia, simply for being Black. White supremacy murdered Ahmaud Arbery.
“While we are glad to see this accountability, true justice still evades us here, as it is far too often out of reach for families of color – especially Black families. This of course isn’t by chance. Our nation’s legal system was constructed not to serve Black people, but to punish and dehumanize us.
“A complete overhaul of this system is needed if this country ever expects to eliminate the racism built into the system itself. It’s imperative we support the racial justice work being done on the ground to transform and reimagine this system, in particular by groups such as Just Georgia. We encourage those hungry for making this change in Ahmaud’s memory to support their work by contributing at just-georgia.org.”
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Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and Fort Bend counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.
This statement was sent out November 24, 2021.