City Manager of Worcester, Ed Augustus, and Mayor Joe Petty released a joint statement on Monday, June 1, calling upon the community to examine our role in systemic racism and declare that Black Lives Matter.
The statement described the murder of George Floyd, a Minneapolis, MN man killed on Monday, May 22, in an altercation with four police officers, as a senseless loss of life.
Augustus and Petty also said that “There is no excuse, no justification for what happened.”
In the struggle for racial equality, Augustus and Petty said that “Progress has been made. Through amendments and court decisions, and through protests like those we are seeing now, we have seen change. We must not stop fighting for justice.”
Floyd died during an altercation with four police officers on Monday, May 22. Derek Chauvin, one of those officers, faces third degree murder charges for Floyd’s death.
In the first week since Floyd’s death, over 30 cities in the United States have seen significant protests and demonstrations.
