News | Live Stream | Video Library
Contact Us | Employment | Donate
April 23, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – As members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, we Adrian Dominican Sisters strongly support this joint statement with the National Black Sisters’ Conference on the Chauvin verdict, calling on “all people of good will and especially people of faith to join us in working for real and sustainable solutions to the racial divide in our country.”
We, the National Black Sisters’ Conference and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, stand together in our commitment to the sacred dignity of each human person as emphasized in Catholic Social Teaching.
In the aftermath of the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, we recommit to working for real and sustained systemic change in the struggle to end institutional racism in every aspect of our society.
Sadly, we know that the trend of fatal police shootings has only escalated in this country over the last four years. The rate of fatal police shootings among Black Americans is much higher than that of any other ethnic group. Starting with the savage beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1991 up to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the trend of abuse at the hands of law enforcement has alarmingly increased.
In 2020 there were 1,021 fatal police shootings, and in the first three months of this year 213 people have been shot by the police; 30 of whom were African Americans. Police brutality is only one of the many manifestations of systemic racism; but it is one that too often ends in the death of too many young African Americans.
We believe that we are at a crucial moment in race relations in this country. We must acknowledge and work to eradicate the sin of White Privilege that seeks to affirm the false superiority of Anglo-Saxon culture and way of life.
We must as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. admonished us “learn to live together as brothers (and sisters) or perish together as fools.” Therefore, we call upon all people of good will and especially people of faith to join us in working for real and sustainable solutions to the racial divide in our country.
We will not rest and our work will not be done until the belief that all people are created equal and entitled to the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is a lived reality for every American citizen.
Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ General Council are Sisters Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress; Mary Margaret Pachucki, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; Frances Nadolny, OP, Administrator and General Councilor; Patricia Harvat, OP, General Councilor; and Elise D. García, OP, General Councilor.
Statistics should be comprehensive. Most people shot by police were in the act of committing a crime, brandished a weapon, resisted police searches or arrest, threatened a law officer's life or fled from the police. Those shot were of different races and shot by Black, Hispanic as well as White officers.The greater percent of police apprehensions are black males under 34 years old because more crime is committed by this group. Police officers are demoralized by the charge they are racist in their work. Psychologists vouch that the last thing most police officers want to do is discharge their weapon or kill anyone. This usually puts them in psychological care due to PTSD and job loss. A black Baptist preacher and activist against police violence accepted an offer to participate in the police cadet training modules of firearms training, and apprehension and arrest. In the apprehension module he "killed" three people and he was "shot" three times. He understood what fear for one's life while assessing a possibly deadly situation was like. After this experience he changed his activism to teaching proper conduct during encounters with law enforcement.