City of St. Joseph issued the following announcement on June 8
As we face yet another tragic death of a Black man at the hands of law enforcement, our hearts go out to the City of Minneapolis as they grapple with this tragedy and its aftermath.
We join with them and others across the country in their sorrow and calls for justice.
Since then we have watched American citizens take to the streets to raise their voices and call for an end to the systemic racism that has led to the deaths of so many Black men, women and children. Though miles separate Minneapolis from our city of St. Joseph, the oath of office to serve and protect all of our residents equally under our laws and policies ties us together. Our residents entrust in us official authority to act in ways that are consistent with the high moral values and unwavering commitment to the belief that we, as elected officials, be fair and unbiased in our decisionmaking processes and to protect all of our residents.
The St. Joseph City Commission realizes and accepts that the root cause of these events can no longer be viewed as one bad officer, but a result of hundreds of years of oppression and racism built into the structure of our society. To remove oppression and racism from society's structure we must look inward to our hearts and souls, and work to ensure the best possible future of our city.
No one person can do this work, no one group should bear the burden, we all must listen to our hearts and reach out to those around us.
Today, we are asking you to consider taking an active role in forging the changes that will benefit all.
That change will not be easy, and it will involve responsibility, accountability and measurement of the impacts of the decisions and policies made by this city commission and future elected leaders.
We will stumble, we will fall, and we will make mistakes. But, with the conviction of fulfilling the belief of "Liberty and Justice for All" we, as a community will prevail.
St. Joseph stands with other cities, businesses and leaders who want to drive positive change, eradicate the barriers that deny access and opportunity within our communities of color, and become a city where all, men, women and children are treated as equals.
This is who we are and what we desire to become.
Original source can be found here.
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