El Paso’s only black City Council representative calls for vigilance after Floyd’s ‘needless murder’
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso's only black City Council representative pointed to "systematic racism" as a problem not just for minorities, but for America as a whole.
Sam Morgan, who represents District 4 in northeast El Paso, provided ABC-7 a statement in response to the death of George Floyd, who died while being restrained by an officer placing a knee on his neck May 25.
Derek Chauvin has now been charged with second-degree murder in connection to Floyd's death, and the three other officers who were on the scene are also facing charges.
In the statement, which he titled "Silence is Deafening," Morgan acknowledged Floyd's life as a father and friend and said Floyd was "needlessly murdered."
Morgan expressed his disapproval of the violence that has arisen from protests across the nation -- not specifically referring to the eruption between police and protesters in El Paso on Sunday -- but pointed to the underlying issue that has sparked such a turbulent widespread reaction: racial injustice.
"It is my heartfelt belief the problem in America rests squarely on the shoulders of our fellow citizens who don’t believe or attempt to understand that there is a problem of racial inequity in our country," Morgan said. "U.S. citizens have become complicit and allowed over 400 years of systematic oppression and discrimination of millions of American citizens to continue. What I find particularly disturbing from many of our citizenry is their silence."
"I am glad to see that this incident has woken people up," Morgan continued, adding, "I hope they will stay awake, vote and remain vigilant because when all of the demonstrations have ended, we must continue to protect people of color from being judged solely on the basis of how they look."
