06/04/2020
The following statement was issued by the Committee for Public Counsel Services. As a firm dedicated to serving the most powerless children and families of our community in the juvenile court system, we wholeheartedly endorse this statement. We stand in unity with the black community. We will continue to fight for equal justice.
"CPCS Statement: No Lives Matter Until Black Lives Matter
In 2014, we all bore witness to the video footage of a white police officer gunning down Michael Brown, a black and unarmed, recent high school graduate. Since that unforgettable date and time, the blood of black men and women has been mercilessly spilled, and their lives cut short by police brutality, in nearly every state in the country:
See their names, say their names:
Sylville Smith, 23 – Wisconsin
Korryn Gaines, 23 – Maryland
Joseph Mann, 51 – California
Philando Castille, 32 – Minnesota
Gregory Gunn, 56 – Alabama
Freddie Gray, 25 – Maryland
Alton Sterling, 37 – Louisiana
Paul O’ Neal, 18 – Illinois
Antwun Shumpert, 37 – Mississippi
Akiel Denkins, 24 – North Carolina
Aaron Bailey, 45 – Indiana
Keith Childress, 23 – Nevada
Felix Kumi, 61 – New York
James Leatherwood, 61 – Florida
Donnie Sanders, 47 – Missouri
Danny Washington, 27 – Pennsylvania
Tyre King, 13 – Ohio
Tamir Rice, 12 – Ohio
Marcus Peters, 24 – Virginia
Walter Scott, 50 – South Carolina
Channara Pheap, 33 – Tennessee
Jesse Quinton, 35 – Idaho
Gregory Griffin, 46 – New Jersey
Deravis Rogers, 22 – Georgia
Isaiah Lewis, 17 – Oklahoma
Naeschylus Vinzant, 37 – Colorado
Jacai Colson, 28 – Maryland
Yvette Smith, 47 – Texas
Atatiana Jefferson, 28 – Texas
Pamela Turner, 45 – Texas
Sandra Bland, 28 – Texas
Miriam Carey, 34 – DC
Ahmaud Arbery, 25 – Georgia
Breonna Taylor, 26 – Kentucky
Michael Brown, 18 – Missouri
George Floyd, 46 – Minnesota
Perversely, this list is not exhaustive but it does serve to illustrate and document the pervasive, ubiquitous and inescapable reality of American apartheid. This has been one of the most troubling and daunting periods in our history as a nation. The unfathomable pain and suffering that is continually being unleashed upon the Black community by law enforcement is relentless. We shall not stand silent and do nothing. Silence is compliance.
From brutal slayings to the disruption of even simple ordinary life choices, such as, birding in Central Park, sleeping in your bed, taking a swim in the swimming pool where you live, barbecuing in the park, or even not being in the mood to wave and smile at a white woman in a neighboring home to your Air BnB, the weaponization and inherent fear of black skin remains one of America’s favorite past times.
“When the color of your skin is seen as a weapon, you will never be seen as unarmed.”
We stand now, not just as lawyers, administrative staff, social workers and investigators who have dedicated our lives to ensure justice for the least amongst us, but we also stand in solidarity with our Black colleagues and the Black community that has now, for centuries, been ravaged by hate, oppression, fear and death. We must do all within our power to eradicate this pervasive and lingering ideology that black people be brought to heel under the yoke of white supremacy. We must speak out, stand up, and stay vigilant to guard against our own implicit bias, and privilege, in order to push towards a common goal to eradicate racism in this state and this nation.
I will not pretend to imagine what it is like to be a person of color and have to deal with this daily tragedy and heartache. I share this message, which has been built with the voice of Black leadership within CPCS, to ensure that our voice is complete and inclusive and thank Arnie Stewart and Nan Whitfield specifically for their contributions.
Please stay safe, healthy and working toward the tomorrow we want and must achieve.
No Lives Matter Until Black Lives Matter
Anthony J. Benedetti
Chief Counsel
Committee for Public Counsel Services"
