Black Lives Matter. Period.

To the DLJ community:

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I can do to support people of color during this time and moving forward. While I will never be able to understand what it must be like to live in fear of police brutality and navigate a system that has been rigged against me, I do understand that I can commit myself to becoming a better ally.

The ruthless murdering of unarmed black people by police is just one aspect of our system that is fundamentally set up to make black Americans fail.  Our criminal “justice” system infuriates me, and should infuriate you.  Police are the gateway into an institution that systematically oppresses and controls the bodies of black Americans.  Black Americans experience:

• Higher rates of arrest.
• Longer jail time for their criminal sentences
• Significantly higher bail amounts 
• The inability to apply for jobs as ex-convict that they trained for in prison
• The stripping of their right to vote despite having serving time for their crime

I have and will continue to donate to the National Police Accountability Project and Campaign Zero, which are organizations dedicated to end police violence.  I highly recommend visiting Campaign Zero’s site www.joincampaignzero.org which provides a ton of information and resources on how to take action.

This is an ongoing issue, and we must continue to fight for our fellow Americans.

- Delia