Dear Friends,
It’s been four years since George Floyd’s life was taken in a horrific act of police brutality that is far too common in this country. Following the deaths of Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, and too many others, George Floyd’s life and murder sounded a clarion call for racial justice and forced a broader recognition that communities of color have been intentionally and systematically oppressed for decades upon decades.
It was an overdue yet unfinished moment of reckoning for the people and generations we have lost to over-criminalization and mass incarceration; health disparities that shorten our lives; and rampant economic and social inequalities that rob people of color of our lives, our freedom, our wellbeing, and our chance at a better future every single day.
George Floyd’s own story makes this clear, and his life should not be reduced to its final moments. He was a beloved member of his family and community. As a youth growing up in Cuney Homes in Houston’s historic Third Ward, he aspired to "touch the world." As an adult, he no doubt struggled to overcome the odds unfairly stacked against him. Reflecting on his own life experiences, he encouraged youth in his community to turn away from violence. He sought a better life and a way to support his family in Minnesota because he couldn’t find it here in Houston.
In response to the movement spurred by George Floyd’s life and death, Harris County committed to investing in holistic, transformative programs to help break cycles of incarceration, violence, and generational poverty fueled by inequality and racial injustice. It was a recognition that people can’t be policed or prosecuted out of poverty. Mental health and substance use can’t be treated in a jail cell, and equal justice can’t be delivered by a two-tiered system that treats someone differently based on how much money they have or the color of their skin.
That’s why, on the day of George Floyd’s funeral, Commissioners Court called for a suite of reforms to make our communities safer and our justice system fairer. From violence prevention and quality legal representation to police accountability and health-based response teams that support people in crisis, these efforts help reduce overreliance on mass incarceration, narrow racial disparities in our justice system, and increase access to resources and services that improve the safety, health, and wellbeing of our communities.
Since then, we have made great strides and faced real setbacks. Our violence interruption program has prevented 50 potential incidents of violence. The Holistic Assistance Response Team (HART) program has sent unarmed, interdisciplinary first responder teams to answer more than 11,000 calls related to mental health, substance use, homelessness, poverty, and other non-emergency health and social welfare issues. Through HART, we are improving community health and safety, addressing our growing mental health crisis, connecting people to needed services, and freeing up law enforcement resources. It is one of the most substantial and effective criminal justice reforms we have implemented after George Floyd’s death.
The fight continues on many fronts. Too many people still languish in our overcrowded jails simply because they can’t afford an attorney or make bail, because they face mental health or substance use challenges, or simply because of the color of their skin. Extremists in our state and across the country are mounting a fierce backlash and using the politics of division to advance their radical agendas, block progress, and embolden white supremacists. Just last week, Governor Abbott made the abhorrent decision to pardon Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester in the wake of George Floyd and had even written of wanting to kill protestors and Black people. This pardon said loud and clear that extremist politicians would take every opportunity to deny the demands for racial justice and equity.
Even our hard-fought wins in Harris County are in jeopardy. Last week, despite the program’s on-the-ground success, Commissioners Court withheld funding for HART, which threatens to end this vital service at a time when it is urgently needed. I’m committed to working with fellow County leaders to ensure the continuation and expansion of this key effort to make our communities safer and reduce mass incarceration. As our community grapples with overcrowding in our jails and as residents’ mental and physical health suffers in the wake of disasters, we must fight to keep this program that improves people’s lives.
We cannot be deterred. We must work harder to protect people from the slow and steady violence of oppression, neglect, and racism and make right the wrongs that people have endured for far too long. Dr. King once said, "True peace is not merely the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice." When we talk about real safety for all communities, we ultimately strive for the deeper peace and transcendent justice Dr. King envisioned. We owe it to George Floyd and so many others to keep going until our lives and rights are protected and the promise of justice, equality, and freedom is delivered to us all.
Sincerely,
Rodney Ellis