LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — During a press conference Monday afternoon, Michigan government officials issued statements in response to the George Floyd protests that occurred over the weekend.
After an update on the COVID-19 response was delivered by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist made a statement on the matter.
“As a black man in America, it is hard enough to breathe on most days, but the last few months, this has become even more difficult,” Gilchrist said. “The scab covering the wounds of oppression has once again been ripped off. Black people across our nation are suffering and suffocating from an injustice that we know all too well. Our administration, the most representative of our state’s people in our state’s history, feels this, and we are here to heal.”
Gilchrist commented on how the timing of these protests has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are simultaneously facing two of the most consequential crises of our lifetimes – COVID-19 and the persistence of police brutality,” Gilchrist said. “As always, the pain of the convergence of these crises is being felt by those in the communities that can bear it the least,” Gilchrist said. “George Floyd’s final words have become a rallying cry for a nation that has not been able to breathe. In fact, black communities are mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted from generations of saying we can’t breathe. We can’t breathe when the knee of injustice is pressed against our necks, we can’t breathe when a virus that is disproportionately killing our brothers and sisters is present.”
Gilchrist praised those who have been protesting in a civil manor, but warned that the virus is still a danger at this time.
“Please remain vigilant, please practice social distancing, please wear your mask if you do choose to demonstrate,” Gilchrist said.
Gilchrist wrapped up by saying that the nation needs to unite to help change system policy.
“The struggles that we face under the systems that we operate didn’t just happen…they were designed by people who are indifferent to some of these situations,” Gilchrist said. “But what that means is that a different, a larger, a more representative set of people can make a different set of choices, can establish and design a different set of systems that lead to a different set of outcomes and opportunities.”
Following the speech by Gilchrist, Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun delivered a speech of her own.
“As a black mother with three children, I know the distress of not knowing if someone will see your child’s life as less valuable because of the color of their skin,” Khaldun said. “I’ve seen the disproportionate impact that racism has had on health outcomes for people of color – not because of genetic differences, but because of differences in unequal access to adequate housing, health care, education and jobs. This directly contributes to health disparities, including what we are seeing with COVID-19.”
Khaldun adds that racism is “absolutely a matter of public health.”
“As a society, we must do better,” Khaldun said. “I stand with those that are peacefully striving to advance justice, not just for my children and family, but for black and brown people all across the country.”
In addition to statements made by Gilchrist and Khaldun, Whitmer is asking citizens to be mindful when protesting.
“We must all collectively be the solutions to the problems that we are confronting,” Whitmer said. “To the organizers of the demonstrations, please continue to demonstrate and designate a route and time frame and encourage everyone to be safe, and do everything you can do encourage safe social distancing.”
Whitmer also advised keeping these events in mind when the time comes to vote this fall.
“Come August and November, vote for someone you believe will enact real cultural change in our Sheriff’s and Mayor’s offices, and our district and state attorney’s offices,” Whitmer said. “These actions will make a difference.”
