This is adapted from daily Facebook posts by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn. Sunday morning refelections are followed by parts of her Saturday and Friday essays.
By Debbie Dingell
Today is supposed to be a day of rest. The country is anything but at rest.
Images from across the country must get our attention. We cannot be deaf to the hurting of communities and the anger and rage.
These are turbulent times, our nation already on edge, afraid, anxious, hurting, suffering. And Covid has not disappeared. I worry for many right now.
We must all be committed at this crossroad in our history to work to help bridge the serious, bitter, troubling, anger that has simmered for years. We must work together to understand, to hear that the riots we are witnessing are the language of the unheard, as Dr. Martin Luther King said. To strategize, to act on solutions and address inequities of many -- and not just the African-American community
Debbie Dingell: "We must work together." (Photo: Facebook)
We are a country hurting. We must work together to help heal us.
Three other quotes from Dr. King drive me today:
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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
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"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
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"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
Saturday
The murder of George Floyd is a spark that triggered [a reaction to] years of anger, discrimination, hopelessness, injustice, inequality, bigotry, intolerance and unfairness -- something many cannot understand.
Most black leaders are calling for peaceful demonstrations against the long injustices.
There are people who use troubled times like this to stir pots, to deliberately cause violence that then gets blamed on those peacefully demonstrating to express their despair and their deep feelings. That latter group is not walking or marching to cause violence or disrupt. They are showing their discouragement, their hopelessness, their pain.
There are deliberate evil forces that use these times for their own purposes, to cause violence, hatred, fear. May all of us be aware of this and not allow those flames to burn or disrupt.
Friday
We are in deeply troubled times. We have had an incident in the 12th Comngressional District this week as well -- a deeply disturbing video of a deputy sheriff hitting a black women in the head. The Washtenaw community is hurting too.
Detroit activist Demeeko Williams at a Friday march in Detroit, which he helped organize. (Photo: Michael Lucido)
All of these incidents cause all of us to search our conscience. Brutality by anyone is never OK. Sheriff Jerry Clayton is committed to a complete and thorough investigation of all the facts, and he more than many understands how important and complicated these issues are.
We must get the facts, the process must be transparent and the appropriate people held accountable. (I will acknowledge I strongly encouraged the case be referred to the attorney general’s office to ensure it was handled by independent prosecutors.)
This incident is a very serious setback for this community. And George Floyd's death has ripped open a huge wound in this country. How many African-Americans wonder: Will I be next?
Community is strong when there is trust and respect for everyone. That is missing in many communities, and it is now seriously undermined in communities I represent and across much of this country. We all must work together to rebuild respect, trust and strength among us.
This is very serious challenge and requires much work by all citizens of this country. And we must be willing to see the truth.
