Former President Barack Obama is weighing in again on the murder of George Floyd, denouncing those who committed violent acts while taking part in otherwise peaceful demonstrations.
In a Medium post published Monday, the 44th president called the majority of those participating in the protests “peaceful, courageous, responsible, and inspiring,” praising how the demonstrations represented “a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system.”
He then, however, condemned individuals who began looting or engaged in violent acts while involved in the weekends’ demonstrations across the country.
“I saw an elderly black woman being interviewed today in tears because the only grocery store in her neighborhood had been trashed. If history is any guide, that store may take years to come back.
“So let’s not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it. If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves,” Obama continued.
On Friday, Obama responded to the killing of 46-year-old Floyd, saying that disparate treatment “for millions of Americans…shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America.”
“This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can’t be ‘normal.’ If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better,” the former president wrote at the time.
“It will fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done.”
“But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station — including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day — to work together to create a ‘new normal’ in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts,” he concluded.
Protests and riots erupted across the nation over the weekend in a show of outrage against the murder of Floyd, an unarmed black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis last week.
Floyd could be heard in video of the killing pleading that he could not breathe while being pinned down by since-fired Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for over eight minutes.
In his second statement on Monday, Obama went on to highlight what he believes needs to be done in order to properly address marginalized communities’ grievances with the criminal justice system.
“The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable,” Obama wrote, “But eventually, aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices — and in a democracy, that only happens when we elect government officials who are responsive to our demands.”
Obama argued that concerned Americans need to understand which levels of government have the largest impact on policing and prison policies in order to establish any reforms. He continued by emphasizing that voters must show up to the polls and support candidates in state and local races who would push for change.
“It’s mayors and county executives that appoint most police chiefs and negotiate collective bargaining agreements with police unions. It’s district attorneys and state’s attorneys that decide whether or not to investigate and ultimately charge those involved in police misconduct. Those are all elected positions,” he wrote.
Decrying the historically low-voter turnout in those races, Obama argued, “if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform.”