RESOLUTION 2021.2: CONDEMNING UNEQUAL ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW IN RECENT DEMONSTRATIONS AND THE JANUARY 6, 2021 INSURRECTION AT WASHINGTON, DC

WHEREAS; We understand that the establishment of our country was built on the taking of Native American lands and the removal of these indigenous people from their homelands or outright killing of those who resisted, and

WHEREAS; The establishment of our country was done within the historic acceptance of white male supremacy, and

WHEREAS; Our economy was built and thrived due to the labor of enslaved and indentured people of color, and

WHEREAS; Even as the Civil War was fought to alter these systems, the period following lost many promised changes. True freedoms have been constantly undermined through civic and organized group actions to empower a racial caste system, remove economic opportunities, and disenfranchise African American citizens through intimidation, death, violence, and social controls in order to maintain existing white power structures, and

WHEREAS; These intolerable conditions have continued during 400 years in times when holding people as slaves was legal, up to current times when systems of repression are less codified, but still actively suppress the lives and dreams of our Black., Latinx, and diverse populations, and

WHEREAS; Our shared history both national and personal put us either in a position of unearned privilege or that of being unworthy, not to be trusted, and of having diminished capacities. Peaceful actions and demonstrations bring public visibility but no lasting change, and

WHEREAS; This past year has brought repeated examples of the use of deadly force by police toward Black and minority citizens, reinforcing the loss of trust and confidence of American people of color, and

WHEREAS; Our ability to see and understand the anguish of people who have been systematically prevented from participation in the broader society is clearly evident. We see that the ability of Black citizens to vote has been callously suppressed by those in power throughout history since the Civil War, and

WHEREAS; Recent acts of insurrection and vandalism by white extremists at our nation’s capital were anticipated but not met by sufficient organization or force of local and federal officials to protect our Representatives, Senators, and staff members or our treasured public buildings and heritage, and

WHEREAS; Recent history has brought us painful evidence of the racism inherent in the existing law enforcement treatment of Black Lives Matter demonstrators as compared to that of the lawless rioters promoting insurrection at our Nation’s Capitol, and

WHEREAS; Underlying these actions indicate a return to the promotion of white supremacy and the use of violence to overturn legal and fraud-free elections. Domination and subjugation of others is required to maintain their vision of our nation, and

WHEREAS; We cannot make amends or change our existing systemic racism until it is acknowledged. We must admit what we have created and work consciously to change our individual and systemic inequities.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

1. We each must pledge to speak truthfully and take action when we encounter inequitable treatment of others based on racist attitudes.
2. We promise to model the behaviors and values guaranteed by our Constitution and to improve our society’s actions in all ways available to us.
3. We ask our publicly elected officials from local, state, and national bodies to actively review and counter policies and informal habits which prolong unequal treatment under the law. We ask for accountability for those people involved in the recent insurrection and continuing actions that result in fear of confrontation and death among our brothers and sisters of color.
4. We demand that those who promote white supremacy in our nation be limited in their public behaviors and actively pursued with all legal measures available to punish and ostracize them for such vile actions, and that we work to limit future violent actions.

Passed by unanimous vote.