We Cannot Be Silent

I have struggled to find words to fully express the anger and sadness I feel this week, but we cannot remain silent.

Yet another Black man has been murdered in this country, and we must not be silent bystanders to the reality of white supremacy and the systems of injustice that have already killed and continue to threaten millions of our fellow Americans.

Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities can no longer be sacrificed for white America to stay comfortable. It is past time for all of us to demand justice for those we have lost, and demand that the racism that enables murder without consequence be addressed.

We, at The Alliance, believe we have a responsibility to be actively anti-racist, to call out unjust actions, and to fight for a world that does not threaten the lives of our friends, our neighbors, and those whose names we don’t yet know. Silence is deadly, and we will not quietly ignore the systematic killing of Black people by police.

But the brutality that is baked into our national history isn’t only sustained by the criminal justice system. We know it is also endemic in our housing, health, education, food, political, and economic systems. We know that even the impacts of climate change and energy insecurity are harming communities of color first and worst. And we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrate the deadly implications of environmental racism and pollution on those very same communities.

These problems are so deep and wide that it is hard to know where to start. But that doesn’t give us the right to passively wait and watch. And so, we must start with committing ourselves to showing up, and not leaving this fight to the communities who are threatened. We ask you to join us. We are an Alliance; we must be strong allies.

We know that building a just world is not easy, but we do not shrink from the task. We will mourn, and we will take action.

First, we will say their names: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Amaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and the countless others who deserve more than thoughts and prayers.

And we will offer these suggestions for what to do next:

1. Phone a friend. Take ten minutes and have a conversation with someone you know about police violence and other systems of racism. Ask what the other person thinks, listen to their responses, and share your own perspective. Feel free to call us!
2. Read and educate yourself about what you can do as a white ally. There are plenty of ways to begin. Here are some actions to start and resources that can help.
3. Phone a decision-maker. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman recently charged ex-officer Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, but Floyd’s family is upset Chauvin wasn’t charged with a more serious offense and are calling authorities to revise the charges. And while Attorney Freeman “anticipates charges” for the three other officers, these officers remain unaccountable. Call Attorney Freeman at 612-348-5550 and demand that he press charges against all officers involved with the incident.
4. Donate to the George Floyd Memorial Fund, or organizations actively teaching anti-racism like the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.
5. Support front-line organizations who are leading work on the ground: Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, Minnesota Freedom Fund, CTUL, COPAL, Black Lives Matter, NAACP Minneapolis, Voices for Racial Justice, Justice and Beyond, RISE St. James

​With love and resolve, 

Logan A. Burke & the Alliance for Affordable Energy team