The system isn't broken. It's rotten.

Breonna Taylor was murdered by Police. Six long, lingering months later, after repeated attempts by the police state to manipulate and corrupt the evidence, the Kentucky Grand Jury failed to confirm what the rest of the world has already witnessed. Justice has been struck down once again.

Carl Takei, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project, said in a statement Wednesday that the grand jury's "decision further highlights what was already obvious: To change these systems that routinely perpetuate egregious acts of violence against Black lives, elected officials must listen to the cries of those communities and make sweeping changes—including divestment from these broken institutions and reinvesting in non-police alternatives—so that Black people no longer fear being murdered in their own home."

"Today's charging decision," said Takei, "is the manifestation of what the millions of people who have taken to the streets to protest police violence already know: Modern policing and our criminal legal system are rotten to the core."

On the same day as the Kentucky Supreme Court decision, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that bans critical trainings on power, privilege and oppression for Federal and Military contractors. The executive order, which Trump said was meant to “to combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating,” bars contractors from conducting training that “teaches, advocates, or promotes divisive concepts” such as unconscious bias and systemic racism. This action from the top office of the United States government is an affirmation of the rampant authoritarianism and white supremacy that is rotting at the foundation of our history and “Americanism”.

Our pain for Breonna Taylor, her family, and her community, is a visceral reminder that colonial justice systems were never meant to work for us. They were built this way. Native Movement raises our fists in outrage as we stand side by side with our Black relatives in the movement for Black lives, in the movement for liberation.   

Native Movement calls on our community and our allies: raise your voices to decry the continued injustices built on racist systems. Dig deep with us to highlight the rotting foundations of the justice system. We believe it is critical for each of us to analyze our participation in white supremacy culture, personally and professionally; this is one step in which we can begin to dismantle systemic oppression. Another step toward stripping rotten systems is by supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color grassroots leadership. Grassroots leadership rooted in responsibility to community and utilizing strategies grounded in an Indigenized worldview, in decolonizing frameworks, and in anti-racist actions is a powerful path forward.

While our anger escalates and our frustration mounts, we know that we stand with millions of people across the country who are organizing in their communities -- Don’t stop. Do your work to understand the impacts of the power and privilege structures of colonialism, racism, patriarchy, and capitalism. And to our Black, Indigenous, and people of color relatives in particular: we must take moments of reprieve and rest.

Our Joy is Resistance as well. All of us must engage daily in healing practices, this is essential to the longevity of our march toward Liberation. We were meant to be here, at this time, in this place, for a purpose; fists in the air and songs from our hearts, we are marching forward in solidarity for for Black lives, for Justice, for Liberation.

#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor #BlackLivesMatter #Solidarity

banner image is a mural in Oakland, CA by The People's Conservatory Collective