Peaceful protests were held in Cumberland and Hagerstown yesterday afternoon. The protest were held following several days of protests across the country condemning the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Following the nationwide protests on Saturday in response to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, US Congressman David Trone who represents the 6th District of Maryland released the below statement:
“It’s time for all Americans to wake up to the injustices that plague our nation. We can draw a straight line from slavery, to Jim Crow, to mass incarceration and misconduct by law enforcement. All Americans, especially white Americans, must acknowledge the racism that is pervasive in our actions and institutions.
“The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor call our attention to the glaring racial disparity in COVID-19 deaths, in health care, in education, and in maternal mortality rates. We should be ashamed that Black Americans do not have equal opportunity in our country today, and we should be determined to address the consequences of this incontrovertible fact.
“As Bobby Kennedy said in Indianapolis the night of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, ‘What we need is not division; what we need is not hatred; what we need is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another; and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer.’
“It’s time to come together, peacefully and with compassion, to fight against the injustice in our nation and make the change that our children, and generations to come, will be proud of.”
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, released the following statement on the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.
“Whether a knee in the back, a chokehold or a rough ride, it is completely unacceptable that another African American, whose hands are cuffed behind their back by police, should fail to be heard when pleading for their lives. George Floyd’s unnecessary death at the hands of Minneapolis police is yet another reminder of the need to fundamentally reform the ways police across this nation interact with the communities they serve. I am appalled by Mr. Floyd’s death and call for swift justice in the case, which has begun – but not ended – with the immediate termination of the officers involved in the confrontation. The Justice Department should immediately launch a federal civil rights investigation into the death of Mr. Floyd. We simply must do more to ensure that the basic human rights of Americans are protected at all times, even if they are suspected of a crime. I will continue working to advance legislation I have introduced in the U.S. Senate, the End Racial and Religious Profiling Act, to eliminate the use of racial and religious profiling by police. We should take several other necessary measures contained in my Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Actthat can begin to change the tactics used and the tenor of interactions between law enforcement and American communities, especially those of color. I also pray that we will have the courage as a nation to confront the widening racial disparities in our society and that we work to enact lasting change, so that no more families have to suffer such a senseless loss and young men do not have to fear the police because of the color of their skin.”
US Senator Shelley Moore Capito who represents West Virginia also release a statement regarding the death of George Floyd: “Racial discrimination has absolutely no place in this country. The senseless murder of George Floyd is unacceptable and those responsible should be held accountable. We need to do our part to change these attitudes that exist today, but at the same time, we need to do this in a peaceful way. Looting and violent riots are not the way to do this and it is not a way to honor George Floyd or those that are peacefully protesting. I urge West Virginians to do as we have done before during difficult times and come together, listen to each other, and learn from one another.”