News & Commentary

This speech was originally delivered by the ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Claire Gastañaga at a vigil for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Richmond on Sept. 20, 2020.

2020 marks a critical moment in America’s history: We find ourselves at the junction of two deadly pandemics – COVID-19 and systemic racism. The senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Marcus-David Peters, and countless others, have thrown into stark relief the systemic inequities in this country. One thing is clear: Going back to “normal” is not an option. We need change, and we will use everything in our toolbox to get it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed our lives and shown the enormous impact of systemic racism and inequities in America. Caught in between two pandemics, Black and Brown Virginians continue to bear the brunt of not only COVID-19, but also unjust, unfair systems that devalue their lives and leave them behind.

On July 1, hundreds of new laws passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year went into effect. The Virginia legislature made great strides and greenlit a handful of important reforms that had been rejected time and time again in the past. Rather than attacking people’s rights and freedoms, lawmakers passed legislation that made it easier for people to vote, expanded abortion access, protected LGBTQ+ people from discrimination and started chipping away at the countless injustices in our criminal legal system.

For decades, Virginia has been one of the most difficult places in the country for voters to cast their ballots. Thankfully, the latest session of the Virginia legislature passed a historic slate of election reforms to create a more equitable, modern voting system.

No longer should we wait until women are gripped by the claws of the criminal legal system, but take action before their backs are pressed against trying walls.

These laws codify meaningful state civil rights protections for the first time for Virginians and make Virginia the first state in the south to extend state nondiscrimination laws to all members of the LGBTQ community.

As a 19-year-old Black man navigating a world enmeshed with implicit bias, I’ve always heard and seen things differently depending upon which article of clothing I wear, be it a hoodie or a suit.

It's time for Commonwealth's Attorney Collette McEachin to show up, lead, and do the right thing, right now. Demand she drop all charges against protesters, set standards for police in calling an unlawful assembly, and make sure Marcus-David Peters' case is re-opened and gets an independent investigation.