Act Locally Waco shared a blog post by Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver on the tragic death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Deaver also serves as chair of the Prosper Waco Board of Directors. (Read the full post here.)
“The brutal killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day at the hands of Minneapolis police was tragic, despicable, and completely unacceptable to our society,” Deaver wrote. “Unfortunately, it is part of a long history of the lack of equity in our nation. Waco has its own sad history of racism, including the lynching of Jesse Washington on May 15, 1916.
“We have begun to face this reality in our community, and we must continue to move toward a more racially equitable society. The peaceful protestors and demonstrators who spoke and marched together this past Saturday in Waco were right in their calls for action. We must continue to work toward this future together.”
Toward the end of the post, Deaver said:
“I respect and admire every member of Waco’s Police Department that I have had the opportunity to get to know. I believe that each of them are every bit as sickened by what transpired in Minneapolis as I am. Police brutality anywhere in our nation strains the relationship between our citizens and the police who are doing their important and often dangerous work as they try to protect all of us.
“Let’s continue to work together toward healing and racial equity. That will require difficult conversations about next steps. Those conversations have to occur.”