June 3rd, 2020
At the Mary Byron Project our mission is enhancing justice to end intimate partner violence. The recent killings of African Americans Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by police exemplify where justice needs desperately to be enhanced. Our hearts break with so many people across our nation who are crying out for racial justice, and we cannot stay silent. Instead, we join in demanding change.
We recognize that racial injustice and police brutality exist and have long existed in our country and that both are unacceptable. In direct relation to our mission, we recognize that racial injustice and police brutality make ending intimate partner violence harder.
When a person’s race determines the amount and type of justice they get through the system, there is no justice. Imagine being an African American victim of intimate partner violence whose choices are to continue being a silent victim of intimate partner violence or to turn for protection to a system that you’ve seen not help—and even hurt or kill—African American people. Those choices are hardly choices at all. They are certainly not choices that will end intimate partner violence.
At the Mary Byron Project our goal of enhancing justice to end intimate partner violence includes making justice available, safe, and equal for African Americans.