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Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network, issued the following statement after the U.S. House passed The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
“The passage of H.R. 1280, The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, is a monumental step towards reforming a broken system that allowed a law enforcement officer to conduct a modern-day lynching of Mr. Floyd with his knee.
“This legislation is as important as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was in the era of the civil rights movement of the ’50s and 60’s.
“We must face this moment and deal with police accountability instead of turning a blind eye. We must change the unjust criminal justice system, and patterns and practices of police abuse that we have endured for far too long, including the use of chokeholds, racial profiling of Black and Brown lives, and the wrongful conduct that permeated the system for generations.
“Until we get federal legislation, every state will continue to do what it wants to do, and we must remain vigilant about eradicating police abuse. As jury selection begins for Derek Chauvin, the officer that took George’s life, we will continue to galvanize fair-minded justice seekers and fight to turn demonstration into legislation.”
