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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 Commonwealth of Virginia has a responsibility to protect all Virginians, and that includes the thousands of men, women and children being held in Virginia’s prisons, jails and correctional facilities.

America — a country established on July 4, 1776, that prides itself of being a place where “all men are created equal,” yet inequities fostered from race, wealth and social status have festered in existence to this very day. A country that went to war with a government that strangled it under a tyrannical English crown, is similar to a constant war that some Black people encounter daily as they leave their homes questioning if their lives will be taken at a moment’s notice. A country where finally affirming the importance of Juneteenth, also known as Black Independence Day, has been long overdue.