NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ann S. Gooding, (401) 228-4846
STATEMENT BY R.I. DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR JOSEPH MCNAMARA ON THE SENSELESS DEATH OF MINNEAPOLIS MAN, GEORGE FLOYD & RACIAL ATTACK ON R.I. SENATE CANDIDATE JENNIFER ROURKE
WARWICK, R.I. (May 31, 2020) – “The senseless murder of a Minneapolis man at the hands of a rogue police officer and enabled by three witnessing officers, should sicken us all. But it should do more than that. It should move us to action,” said Joseph M. McNamara, Rhode Island Democratic Party Chair.
“George Floyd’s murder – at the hands of those we entrust with our lives is disturbing on so many levels: an innocent man – guilty of nothing more than a suspicion of forgery – is pinned to the ground with a knee to his neck for a full nine minutes. That murder is an unspeakable tragedy but not a unique one. And it is undeserved black eye to every honest, hard-working woman and man in uniform, who gives their full measure protecting our homes, our schools, our workplace, and us. It is that same kind of senseless, stomach-churning bigotry that spawns everyday attacks on innocent people, like Jennifer Rourke, a candidate for Rhode Island Senate in Warwick, who was vilified last week hosting a community forum simply for being Black.
“Let these senseless actions not be in vain. Let them be a life lesson to each of us to think about how we treat those who look different than us, who may come from different countries or neighborhoods or income levels than us. And let it stop us long enough for us to say, this can never happen again. And mean it,” McNamara said.
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