It’s heartbreaking as we continue to live our lives and celebrate our victories when their is so much hurt in our communities today.

I keep coming back to this James Baldwin quote: “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

Since Mr. Floyd’s murder, Santa Fe activists have sustained ongoing protests, engaged our leaders, and demanded we invest in our communities first.

Already we’ve seen positive steps, but make no mistake: Santa Fe and New Mexico have a lot further to go.

Modern policing overextends our police forces and the results are fatal. We need to invest in our communities and make sure our families – especially our Black, Indigenous, Brown and Immigrant brothers and sisters – are treated as community members and not enemy combatants.

To that end, a friend recommended a thoughtful read that I want to share with you: The End of Policing by Alex Vitale

My husband – who I have immense respect for on the topic – recommended this massive resource list for families: https://thework.education/resources-for-parents/

And I hope you’ll take a moment to recommend materials that may have been helpful to you. Please leave any articles, papers, or books in the comments that you may recommend. 

I’m listening and learning right now so that we can pass thoughtful New Mexico-specific policies that enable us all to rise up together.