Quakers have a long history of supporting the end of oppression and racism while promoting peaceful, non-militaristic means of solving societal problems.
We are called to condemn police violence against persons of color and confront racism and white privilege as we were called in the past to advocate against slavery. The murder of George Floyd is sadly one of many deaths occurring from systemic racism.
The Quaker service organization, American Friends Service Committee, states “The brutal murder of George Floyd is the consequence of a racist system that disproportionately targets people of color for violence, imprisonment, and premature death.”
There are means of educating our peace officers and of promoting peaceful conflict resolution.
We urge City and County officials to implement or strengthen these proven means of conflict de-escalation and peace officer review:
- Abolish the most harmful restraint practices such as chokeholds and strongholds
- Institute talks with communities immediately to de-escalate current riots and protests
- Implement or revitalize citizen review committees of police incidents
- Examine diversity and de-escalation practices within police and sheriffs’ offices
- Stop militarized responses to conflict by peace officers
Additionally, we recognize that police violence against persons of color is a problem whose roots began in white supremacy, and we join with people of all ethnicities and backgrounds to solve this problem. Inaction has allowed these deaths to continue. We ask you to reflect on these issues and their solutions. We ask you to take steps to implement new practices within our government. We ask you to monitor the systems responsible for community safety as if the lives of our friends, family, and neighbors depend on it. They do.
In peace,
San Diego Friends Meeting (Quakers)
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