POCI Caucus Statement on the Anniversary of the Murder of George Floyd

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Saint Paul, Minnesota — Today, May 25, is the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released the following statement:

“We must ask ourselves: What has truly changed since last year? The fact remains that another name continues to replace George Floyd. Black men are still dying at the hands of law enforcement. Trust between our communities of color and police remains at record lows. BIPOC communities still do not feel that police keep them safe. Republican colleagues continue to devalue our lived experience and the experience of our communities as they use our calls for change as bargaining chips to secure tax cuts for the wealthy.

“Yet, we know we can never return to a world before the murder of George Floyd, our mindset on how our communities are affected by police and what role they play in our safety has permanently shifted. Whether this is a true sea change that will impact our entire nation remains to be seen. While the murderer was held accountable, and we managed to pass a modicum of police accountability legislation last year, we are meeting increased resistance from the status quo against our calls for more significant reforms.

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POCI Caucus Celebrates Historic Diversity of House Committee Chairs

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the Minnesota House DFL announced the committee structure and chair assignments for the 2021-2022 biennium. With 7 of the 30 committee chairs being members of the Minnesota Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus, this will be the most diverse set of committee chairs in the history of the Minnesota House of Representatives. To mark this historic committee structure, the POCI Caucus released the following statement: 

“We are extremely happy that the House DFL is continuing to move in the direction of progress with these historic appointments. This is an incredibly important step in acknowledging that representation matters and supports our ongoing efforts to address systemic racism and the disenfranchisement of People of Color at the Capitol. 

“The events over the last year have proven that the status quo is no longer tenable, and our systems must be redesigned to address persistent and unacceptable racial disparities. By empowering voices of Color throughout the committee structure we can draw on our extensive expertise and diverse lived experiences to inform policy that works for all Minnesotans. We are now better equipped than ever to center and amplify historically silenced and marginalized people.”

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