Statement from the NC Justice Center on the shootings and protests in Charlotte

RALEIGH (September 28, 2016) — Our hearts remain heavy in the wake of the shootings and protests in our state one week ago. There are still many things we don’t know about the tragic events in Charlotte. What we do know is that — regardless of specifics — the deaths of Keith Lamont Scott, Terence Crutcher, Tyre King, and countless others are too often a consequence of systemic racism, which results in racial disparities and inequities that frequently lead to communities of color being policed differently and denied both due process of law and full protections of the legal system.

At the NC Justice Center, we are committed to justice for all people in our state. Acknowledgment of the existence of community inequities and difference in treatment for people of color – not just in the criminal justice system – is the first step to reducing those racial inequities, whether they are in:

  • Education, where a disproportionate number of African-American children face expulsion and attend high-poverty schools;
  • Housing, whether it be historic redlining, segregated public housing, or other discriminatory practices;
  • Our economy, wherein an African-American male with an associate’s degree has around the same chance of getting a job as a white male with just a high school diploma;
  • Health, as people of color are more likely to go without health care due to cost and face higher uninsured rates;
  • And, indeed, North Carolina’s own criminal justice system where African-American men compose more than 50 percent of the state’s prison population.

Conversations about inequities are difficult and complicated, but that’s exactly why we need to have them. Allowing these destructive and divisive disparities to continue, as well as any discriminatory systems that encourage or condone these continued inequities, erodes public trust. That is why we feel it is important for us, and like-minded organizations, to use our voice and our resources to combat racial injustice and lift up equitable policies in our state.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Rick Glazier, rick@ncjustice.org, 919-856-3193; Julia Hawes, julia@ncjustice.org, 919-863-2406.