With all that our nation is experiencing, I believe what it really needs right now is leadership from each other.
We can’t pass the buck to the president or lawmakers. It is up to us as American citizens to help implement change and truly come together as a nation.
Looting and rioting do not help the cause; they just create opportunities for criminals. War without strategy is suicide. You can be upset, but you must have a plan.
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We all agree that the killing of George Floyd was wrong. We might also agree it is time for real change and you don’t accomplish that by tearing up our cities. As Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms says, “This is not a protest. … This is chaos.”
Too often our many black leaders have gotten complacent with their power, their status as elected officials and all that comes with being a celebrity. They tend to go with what the markets say or what is politically correct.
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When you have organizations such as Black Lives Matter, which was created when we had a black president and a black attorney general and they were not able to deliver, it is even more cause for concern.
It is time for direction! It is time for leadership. It is time for change. But what does change look like?
Change its not throwing Molatov cocktails at police cars and hurting the very officers that help defend and keep our country safe. Going to the White House to climb fences and play tug-of-war with the Secret Service does not change anything.
We need Americans and young people to know that, instead of tearing the streets up, it is more effective to come to our nation’s capital with a list of ideas for legislation and action, and to stand before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to get a bill passed.
By lead, I don’t mean talk or rant on social media or simply say that both sides need to stop. I am talking about LEADING.
In 2018, I spearheaded and developed, alongside then-U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor, R-Va., a resolution designed to help create alliances to enhance and improve communication and collaboration between members of the law enforcement community and the public they serve. This resolution was specifically designed to help enhance relationships so that law enforcement and the public could truly understand each other.
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Specifically, the idea was to acknowledge legitimate concerns of citizens and the strain and mistrust that often clouded their relationship with local police. It would foster constructive and mutually respectful dialogue meant to address legitimate concerns, which can undermine effective policing strategy and public safety.
It is up to us all, citizens and leaders, to take this idea and lead. It is lawmakers like former Congressman Taylor, who believed in what I was saying and teamed up with me for action, and resolutions like this that can guide us in working together in difficult times like these.
So, if no one in our communities is going to lead, then who will? By lead, I don’t mean talk or rant on social media or simply say that both sides need to stop. I am talking about LEADING. Pushing and challenging the civil protesters who want real change and the law enforcement officers who want to work more with communities for a better relationship.
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I will commit to LEADING the charge and creating what Congressman Taylor and I envisioned in House Resolution 285: a greater sense of trust and cohesiveness in our communities.
We cannot accomplish greatness by tearing down or taking apart our great land. We are one, we are America and together we must continue to focus on further building a great nation. A nation that is built on freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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