Update: Statement in Support of Protests - June 4, 2020
The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence's Statement in Support of Protests (PDF).
The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence is outraged by and grieving the recent murders and violence against Black people in America. As we watch the list of individual names of Black victims grow, we know that we are called in this moment to speak out against the systemic racism that underlies the violence, to support the groundswell of protests in response to these killings, and to stand on the side of justice in our work as an agency. As an organization committed to ending violence, we cannot work to end some forms of violence while standing by and watching as violence against entire communities goes unchecked. We grieve with the families of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Atatiana Jefferson, David McAtee, Marcus Deon Smith, Tasharra Thomas, Eugene Harston, Gilbert Barber, Darryl Howerton, Jonathan Ferrell, Keith Lamont Scott, Lavante Biggs, and countless other people whose names we will never know.
Protests across the country in response to these murders have included powerful gatherings and marches, many of which have been met with more police violence in the form of tear gas and rubber bullets. We oppose the militarization of police forces and demand that people be able to participate in protests without facing state violence or surveillance.
The history of the domestic violence movement in this country and in this state is fraught with our own participation in the systemic, state-sponsored systems of oppression, overpolicing, and overincarceration of Black people, including Black victims of domestic violence. As a movement, we have solely relied upon the response of our criminal justice system as the primary tool for addressing domestic violence, at the expense of communities who cannot and do not feel safe in relying on that system to protect them. [1]
At NCCADV, we commit to centering the voices and actions of Black survivors and the Black community in response to a system that disregards their safety. NCCADV supports protesters, led by Black organizers, in their demands for:
- Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Atatiana Jefferson, Tony McDade, David McAtee, and the countless other Black people murdered by police and white people;
- Diversion of funds from police in Black communities into affordable housing, health and wellness efforts; [2]
- An end to the use of past criminal history to determine eligibility for housing, education, licenses, voting, loans, employment, and other services and needs;
- An immediate end to the privatization of police, prisons, jails, probation, parole, food, phone and all other criminal justice related services;
- Support for community led safety task forces, such as Durham Beyond Policing. [3]
The collective liberation of all people from racism and state-sanctioned violence is fundamental to ending domestic violence in our state. We commit to a persistent disruption of anti-Black racism in our work. We will continue to center the needs of Black survivors as we act upon our mission to end domestic violence in North Carolina.
The time for action is now. We urge our members, survivors, and interested communities to visit the Black Lives Matter page to learn more about resources, petitions, ways to take action, and other ways to support the lives, health, and safety of Black people. https://blacklivesmatter.com/.
[1] In a 2015 survey conducted by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 4 out of 5 victims who had never called the police did not do so because they were afraid that doing so would make things worse for them. http://www.thehotline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/09/NDVH-2015-Law-Enforcement-Survey-Report.pdf
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/connecting_dots.html