Following the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the Association of Black Anthropologists released a crucial statement on police violence and anti-black racism. In it, the authors write:
“White supremacist violence is at the heart of the founding of the United States. While the extreme manifestations of this genocidal violence take many forms, and ebbs and flows, the structures remain in place. For Black people, this has meant incalculable racial terror and a continuous struggle against numerous systems of oppression – the policing and carceral apparatus, the inequitable health care system, the education apparatus, social and economic hierarchies, and neoliberal policies among others. Our resolve and determination against these systems of tyranny cannot be understated. But we are aware that there is no way forward if this foundational anti-Blackness is not acknowledged and reckoned with, in this country.”
You can read the entirety of the statement here.
Nicholas C. Kawa 