Miami, FL – Today, Congresswoman Wilson issued the following statement following the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act:
"Today, I voted to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. While it is lamentable that it took Mr. Floyd's public execution by Minneapolis police officers to build widespread national support for this long overdue legislation, I am grateful for the opportunity to have played a role in the push to curb police brutality, end racial profiling, and bring accountability to our nation's police departments. Most important, it will save lives.
"One month ago today, we heard George Floyd utter his final words, ‘I can't breathe.' For generations, countless black mothers and fathers have held their breath each time their sons left home, out of fear that they might be targeted by the police simply because of the color of their skin. As a mother, and for 30 years, the den mother to thousands of 5000 Role Models of Excellence boys, my heart broke when I heard him calling out for his mama, who died just two years ago. It shook me to the core because I have a black son and I know that he would have been calling for me, because most black boys think of their mothers as fixers.
"This legislation is a bold first step toward ending the law enforcement practices that have so needlessly and cruelly taken the lives of too many black men and women, but it is just that—a first step. Much more must be done to address and eradicate the underlying causes of the racism and racial injustice that has always been tightly woven into the fabric of American life so that black families can finally breathe."
