Yvette Clarke: “Hands up, don't shoot. I thank my colleague and friend, Mr. Jeffries of Brooklyn, New York, for his tremendous…”

“Hands up, don't shoot. I thank my colleague and friend, Mr. Jeffries of Brooklyn, New York, for his tremendous leadership both here in Washington, D.C., and at home in New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss being black in America and what the injustice in Ferguson, Missouri, says about where we are and where we need to go as a civil society. I first want to, once again, offer my condolences to the family of Michael Brown, whose efforts to secure justice on behalf of their son were undermined by the decision of the grand jury. The killing of Michael Brown and attacks by the Ferguson Police Department on protesters demonstrate an assumption that young women and men who are African American are inherently suspicious--a false assumption with deadly consequences. So where do we go from here? We must not allow this false assumption to prevail in our Nation, in our society. We cannot and will not accept the devaluation of African American lives. We have seen this scenario play out too many times in recent years, even in my hometown in Brooklyn, New York, where we are still reeling from the recent killing of Akai Gurley, an unarmed young man shot by a probationary New York City police officer. This killing comes on the heels of the homicide by a choke hold of Eric Garner on Staten Island, again, in New York City. Mr.…”