Lori Trahan: “I thank Chairman Jeffries for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we have long encountered excuses as to why we can't tackle bias…”

“I thank Chairman Jeffries for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we have long encountered excuses as to why we can't tackle bias, discrimination, and racism in America, excuses that have prevented equality in healthcare, in the classroom, housing, in the workplace, and, yes, in the way police interact with communities they have sworn to protect. That approach has led to a deadly reality where Black lives are equal on paper, but not in real life. We know this because the data show it. The data show that Black Americans are more likely to die during a trip to the hospital and more likely to be killed, while unarmed, by the police. We know this because George Floyd should be alive today; so should Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and so many others. The Justice in Policing Act would have prevented their deaths, and it is long overdue. We owe it to them and to every Black American to make this bill law. Then we must get to work fixing the injustice that has persisted in our country for centuries so that we can create a more inclusive, truly equal, and just America for everyone to call home.”