15 SEP 2017
In light of today’s announcement of the verdict in the Jason Stockley case, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis feels that justice has not been served in the death of another black man at the hands of law enforcement. This case is another example of why police-community relations are at an all-time low across this country.
The results of this case and other cases of police shootings across this nation show that there are often no consequences to law enforcement for killing African Americans. These verdicts breed the hate, distrust and fear that we work to overcome daily. With all of the efforts to move our community forward in the past three years after the events in Ferguson, this is a major setback to improving racial relations in the St. Louis community. This outcome reflects the lack of civil rights and injustice that African Americans still experience every day in this society. The Declaration of Independence states “that all men are created equal”, but until justice truly has no color we are failing in achieving this goal.
In the U.S. Constitution through the First Amendment, we are granted the right to free speech and the right to peaceably assemble and protest. We fully support peaceful and nonviolent demonstrations regarding today’s decision. At a time when the St. Louis region should be focused on improving our school systems, creating and attracting new jobs, increasing access to affordable healthcare and creating a more welcome and diverse community, this decision has once again taken us back in race relations and severely damaged our reputation across this nation.
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