Ending The Rhetoric Of Violence In The ‘pandemic Of Racism’

The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the shootings of Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and Ahmaud Arbery are the most recent offenses in a long history of systemic racism across the country. Long-standing racial inequalities are reflected in violence against unarmed black men and women, the disproportionate spread of the coronavirus, and the multiple other disparities in income and housing among communities of color. Now is a time for Maine to come together in its response to what the American Psychological Association calls the “ pandemic of racism.” We need an urgent new focus on underlying causes of long-standing social, economic, and political inequalities.