Statement by the BCFED on recent police violence against Black community members

May 29, 2020 | Statement

The BC Federation of Labour is angered and outraged by the recent violent attacks against Black community members locally, nationally and internationally. Police brutality and police murders of Black community members are a reality in our communities, one the BCFED recognizes the labour movement must advocate against.

The collective trauma of watching Black lives be brutalized and murdered is impacting Black communities and Black workers tremendously. It is important that as a labour movement we take a stand against violence on Black bodies, and make sure we hold space for Black workers. 

Our commitment to solidarity requires us as workers to hear and dialogue with Black communities on a consistent basis to make sure that our advocacy is in line with the needs and desires of Black workers and their loved ones. 

We know our work is not done. The systems that have generated wealth and prosperity over centuries in this world have done so in large part by ravaging and destroying Black lives, Black communities, and the ancestral and present homes of Black people. The onus is on each of us individually, and all of us together, to bring an end to this violence and dehumanization.