As Concord’s Select Board we have a responsibility to speak out. The recent murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor create a growing stain on our country’s promise of opportunity and justice for all. The repeated death of black Americans by police officers and vigilantes is a disgrace which must be stopped.

We condemn violence, but the nation-wide protests and violence that this most recent act has caused should inform us all of the depth of the injustices that minorities in this country have so long endured. We must commit ourselves to work to right these injustices and to combat racism in any form.

We have the privilege that accompanies living in a town such as Concord where residents can peacefully protest and our police officers are, as the Town Manager said, our partners in safety.