Sign the Petition to DOJ: Prioritize Investigation Into Killing of Michael Brown

Statement of SEIU President Mary Kay Henry On the Grand Jury Decision inFerguson, Missouri

For Immediate Release: November 24, 2014

Following the grand jury’s decision today to not charge the officer who shot and killed 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement:

“For months, families across our nation have experienced collective grief and outrage over the taking of Michael Brown’s life and the resulting turmoil that has upended the community in Ferguson, Missouri. Today, the grand jury’s decision deepens those wounds and amplifies even more the disproportionate and disparate injustices experienced by communities of color.

These injustices reverberate through all communities and take our nation another step away from a fair and just society.

Our disappointment in today’s decision does not extinguish the hope in our hearts for a better America for all our children regardless of where they were born or in which zip code they live.

Black lives matter. Brown lives matter. All lives matter. The dream of America can never be fully realized until justice and safety prevail in every community across our country. The Department of Justice must prioritize the investigation into the murder of Michael Brown.

SEIU members stand with our brothers and sisters in Ferguson and across the nation in expressing our grief and frustration. We join them in calling for something better for all neighborhoods and communities and joining together in peaceful demonstrations at federal courthouses across the country.

More information can be found here  (http://nationalactionnetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/HANDS-UP-JUSTICE-
RALLY-FLIER-11-21.pdf).

We encourage all involved law enforcement to honor the rules and the rights of people to protest and speak out.

We will not rest in these efforts until America is a more just society where every human being is respected and every community has equal opportunity to thrive.”

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