Official statement from Dallas District 7 City Council Member Adam Bazaldua

District 7 Press Release

For Immediate Release:
June 1, 2020

For more information, contact
Yesenia Valdez, Council Liaison, District 7
Yesenia.Valdez@dallascityhall.com

 

Official statement from Dallas District 7 City Council Member Adam Bazaldua

Dallas, Texas – Council Member Adam Bazaldua released the following statement on recent protests within the city of Dallas.

“My heart is absolutely broken right now. Not about the property damage or the anger that is spilling out through riots across our country, but because this is what it seems to take to get a reaction from our society, from the status quo. There is outrage and disgust for the actions being taken, that are ultimately a cry to be heard and it seems to be working.

The level of outrage and disgust on a national level is not one that has happened when we hear the stories of black life lost. Not only at the hands of police but also through our justice system and redlining/systematic circumstances that has concentrated recipes for violence in lower socioeconomic and minority communities. The fact that these inequities don’t create the same outrage we see right now is exactly why the Black Lives Matter movement not only exists but is necessary.

While I do not condone any violent behavior, I also do not condone the militarization of our streets. While I do support a curfew, I ask it is executed in a way that voices aren’t suppressed and rights are not lost. The events of last night are disheartening and I believe that we, as a city, can think of a more collaborative approach instead of a message that is combative. I also hope that we in the future will only look to chemical weapons and full riot gear as a last resort because I believe it is important for us to practice what we preach and violence will not beat violence.

Something has got to give, something has to change. I know so many police officers that are doing great for the community, but this is bigger than them. This is bigger than identifying that “there are bad apples in every bunch”! This is about a long-standing system that needs aggressive cultural change to not allow for these bad apples to ever where a badge in the first place. The trust between law enforcement and the community is going to require tangible action and no more political correctness.

Although I do not condone violent behavior, that doesn’t mean I don’t understand it. (As an example, I completely understand and appreciate our 2nd amendment right but choose not to own a weapon) I do understand that there is a helpless feeling after so much pain! I hurt with you and too feel that inevitable feeling of helplessness in a fight that seems like it will never end. I understand your anger, need for justice and frustration that all our past cries and peaceful protests and demonstrations have fallen on deaf ears. Because I understand it does not mean I agree with it. I am looking at a larger picture and try to remain focused on making progress. I do not believe that these actions in the end are helping progress. We must get organized and channel our hurt, anger and frustration to productive strategy that will challenge the status quo and invite real change. That passion must not be lost in unproductive measures but instead taken to the ballot box and used to put the right people in office. We have to have people willing to vote for policy changes and criminal justice reform that will address this aggressively head on. This truly is the only way we will ever see justice, ever see peace.

Please join me in promoting nonviolence as we continue the fight for justice. Remember that our best human quality is love and right now I am sending all my love to those who are angry, hurt, frustrated and feel helpless. I want to honor all of the victims’ names by not getting distracted from the end goal and not stop until we see justice for them all, for us all. We must remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. Commitment to progress will require more patience and that will be most easily obtained by us working together.  #BlackLivesMatter #NoJusticeNoPeace #IStandWithYou #SayTheirNames

I’d like to close with this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

'Let me say as I've always said, and I will always continue to say, that riots are socially destructive and self-defeating...I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.'”

 

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