The following is Gamaliel’s statement on the white power and white supremacy on display at the United States Capitol on January 6. Download the press release here: Gamaliel Statement on the Blatant White Supremacy on Display in the U.S. Capitol Attack
As we continue to mourn the seditious attack on the United States Capitol Building, the Gamaliel Network reaffirms its commitment to racial equity and condemns the blatant white power and supremacy displayed by law enforcement and those who conducted the insurrection.
On January 6, 2021, nooses, pipe bombs and molotov cocktails – symbols of racist terror – were brought to our nation’s capital by a mob that intended to disrupt our democracy. In response, law enforcement officers allowed these insurrectionists to breach barriers, allowed them to wreak havoc in the Capitol Building, and, most notably, did not resort to deadly force or conduct mass arrests. While Gamaliel does not support the use of deadly force by law enforcement, we are reminded of the countless people of color who have been brutally murdered by police for far less. We stand in solidarity with the thousands of peaceful protestors who were arrested and brutalized by police in summer 2020 as they stood against white power and supremacy and the violence committed by law enforcement against people of color. We voice our anger at the blatant double standard exhibited by law enforcement when dealing with white domestic terrorists and people of color and those who stand with them.
Several politicians and media personalities have said that the insurrectionists do not represent the real America. We at Gamaliel strongly disagree. What happened at the Capitol on January 6 was the purest expression of American white power, white supremacy and systemic racism. This is the true face of the country in which we live. But we commit to bearing witness to that truth, and we will not stop working to dismantle all systems of oppression. We will not stop until people of all races are treated with equity and dignity in their interactions with systems of power. We demand that those responsible for this atrocity face justice.