The Message From Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes

From our friend, in yesterday’s email inbox:

The ongoing civil unrest in our communities is an understandable expression of rage and frustration.

So often, we hear eloquent accounts of the American Dream. The United States is ostensibly a place where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are guaranteed to everyone. But as the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers shows, America is falling painfully short of that promise.

Mandela recently spoke with CBS 58 about the ongoing civil unrest and the need for structural change in our country. Click here to watch his interview.

The moment we find ourselves in calls for an unapologetic pursuit of justice – a pursuit that Mandela has been on for years. When he sees the protests around our state and across the country, he sees a continuation of the same struggle. He sees systemic inequality and the injustices that it perpetuates.

If you want to read about how Mandela has fought against injustice over the years, The Cap Times has a great article running down his record. Read it here.

Edward, something has to change. We have to affirm here, now, and always that Black Lives Matter. We have to fight to bring true and lasting meaning to those 3 powerful words — and we need to do it together.

Mandela is on the front lines of this fight, right alongside you.

— Team Mandela