Congresswoman and ‘Squad Member’ Ayanna Pressley penned an op-ed published by USA Today Friday in the aftermath of Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict in Minneapolis.
“I want to wake up feeling lighter. But I don’t. I want to wake up fearing less for the safety of my Black husband and Black daughter. But I don’t. I want to wake up and blast Nina Simone. “It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day.” But I can’t. It’s a new day in America, but our communities are still faced with the same traumas as before. The outcome of the Derek Chauvin trial doesn’t change things for us, because Black people are still being killed by police,” writes Pressley.
“What I want my colleagues in Congress and at every level of government to understand is that the only thing that matters in this moment is meaningful policy change and budget change — period. It’s time to put our money where our mouth is and invest in resources that provide the restorative, trauma-informed, community-based solutions people are demanding. Our communities have already lost too much,” she adds.
“George Floyd was not a martyr. His life was not meant to be a sacrifice. He was a regular person who woke up on a regular morning, went to a regular store and was murdered in broad daylight, on camera, by regular police. He was somebody. He deserved to grow old,” concludes Pressley.
Read the full op-ed here.
PRESSLEY on PROTESTS: ‘It’s Time for You to Pay Us What You Owe Us’
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley weighed-in on the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement sweeping the country Friday; saying “it’s time, pay us what you us” from the floor of the House of Representatives.
“Black Lives Matter is a mandate from the people. It’s time — pay us what you owe us. Our Black skin is not a crime. It is the beautiful robe of nation-builders,” said Pressley.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: "Black Lives Matter is a mandate from the people. It's time — pay us what you owe us. Our Black skin is not a crime. It is the beautiful robe of nation-builders." pic.twitter.com/48avufRaif
— The Hill (@thehill) June 26, 2020
President Trump ripped New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Thursday; saying the local police force is “furious” over his plans to install a ‘Black Liver Matter’ mural near Trump Tower on 5th avenue in Manhattan.
“Told that @NYCMayorv Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign. “Pigs in a Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”, referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC Police are furious!” posted Trump on Twitter.
Told that @NYCMayor Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign. “Pigs in a Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”, referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC Police are furious!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020
Bill de Blasio pledged Tuesday to create a new task force to crackdown on his hometown’s unprecedented use of illegal fireworks this week; saying a “huge sting operation” will target illegal sellers across all five boroughs.
“We’re going to start a huge sting operation to go and get these illegal fireworks at the base, meaning everywhere they’re being sold around New York City and even where they are being sold in surrounding states that we know are flowing into New York City,” he said.
New Yorkers gathered at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s residence on Monday night chanting "If we can’t sleep, you won’t sleep.”
It comes as the city saw more than 800 complaints about fireworks filed this month. A huge increase from last year's number of just 21 complaints in June pic.twitter.com/IKbmw80hu0
— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) June 23, 2020
“The sheriff’s office, the FDNY, the NYPD have come together in an illegal fireworks task force. We will have over 40 officers from each of those three organizations, including 12 FDNY fire marshals. The NYPD intelligence bureau will be a part of this effort to help us track down where the fireworks are coming from to begin with. Deputy sheriffs will be out there addressing this at the root,” he added.
Read the full report here.
PRESSLEY: 'Roots of Policing are Inextricably Linked to the Antebellum Slave Patrols of the South’
Squad-member Rep. Ayanna Pressley weighed-in Tuesday on the Democratic Party’s efforts to promote Criminal Justice Reform heading into the 2020 election; saying the “roots of policing” and linked to the “antebellum south.”
“The roots of policing are inextricably linked to the antebellum slave patrols of the south that led to the establishment of all white police departments,” said Pressley. “Since the Fugitive Slave Act, criminal law enforcement has meant the subjugation and de-humanization of black lives.”
Rep. @AyannaPressley: "The roots of policing are inextricably linked to the antebellum slave patrols of the South." pic.twitter.com/CRlFGkCjKd
— The Hill (@thehill) September 29, 2020
Watch Pressley’s comments above.
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