On Tuesday, February 2, Mr. Amir Locke was fatally shot by Minneapolis police following a “no-knock” warrant on an apartment where he was sleeping. We recognize and honor the many emotions felt by Mr. Locke’s family and friends, as well as those felt by our community, ranging from grief, to anger, to anxiety, and beyond. At times like this, we especially want to affirm the humanity, value, rights, and dignity of our Black friends, colleagues, students, and families. Black lives matter and Black people are loved.
The police killing of Mr. Locke follows a pattern of dehumanizing and violent treatment of the Black community, as well as other communities of color. In Minnesota, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are disproportionately killed by police, including Mr. George Floyd in 2020 and Mr. Daunte Wright in 2021. In the Culture and Family Life Lab, we understand the killing of Mr. Locke to be a sign and symptom of the broader Racism Pandemic (APA, 2020) and Whiteness Pandemic (Ferguson et al., 2021; Learn more), rather than an isolated event.
We as researchers and members of this community have committed our lives to disrupting structural racism. We are embedded within the Institute of Child Development which supports these efforts (see department statement on anti-racism). At these times, we are reminded that we have much further to go and that we must care for each other to maintain our resilience and resistance on this journey. We direct members of our community to the following resources, which include support for coping with racial trauma and advice for allies.