For Immediate Release
01/28/2023
Riverside, CA— 01/28/2023 — Yesterday, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, two horrific videos, that of the October 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi by a right-wing extremist, and the other the murder of Tyre Nichols at the hands of the Memphis Police, were released to the public. This shows us again what happens when Othering takes place and people are violently hurt or murdered by those who invoke cruelty and call it justice. These latest traumatizing videos of yet another Black man brutalized by the hands of the police, or that of an innocent senior attacked by a hammer-wielding intruder because his wife is an elected leader, serve as a painful reminder of how far we have yet to progress in this country to stem systemic racism, misinformation, and hatred, the same trifecta of terror that leads to unthinkable atrocities like the Holocaust.
Tyre Nichols was only 29 years old when five Memphis police officers decided that the often violent and racist underlying culture of policing and the power of the badge allowed them to be judge, jury, and executioners on the night of January 7, 2023. These officers may have been fired and charged with second degree murder, and justice may be served if they are convicted and sentenced to the maximum punishment available under the law, but there must be codified change.
From the events of January 6, 2021, where insurrectionists chanted threats at Speaker Pelosi and Vice-President Pence to the right-wing extremist kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, those who use their platforms to incite violence, hate, misinformation, and racism must be held accountable. We must continue to press our legislators to ensure we have a criminal justice system that lives up to the promise of “Justice for All”. We must hold our leaders accountable when injustice and death are perpetrated upon our communities of color. We must work hard to put people in office who uphold the very ideals of dismantling systemic racism and finding a more enlightened path to justice. We must continue to fight this very real threat to our democracy. It’s time to put a stop to the domestic terrorism.
The Riverside County Democratic Party (RCDP) is one of 58 County Committees affiliated with the California Democratic Party (CADEM). They drive boots-on-the-ground efforts of registering voters, fundraising, electing candidates up and down the ballot, and fighting voter suppression. The RCDP is a volunteer-run organization that works to engage voters and fight for working-class values.
For more information, press only:
Lisa Andres
PR Committee Chair/
Corresponding Secretary
Corresponding.sec.rcdp@gmail.com
