Black Lives Matter
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen protests emanating from Minneapolis over the unjust and inhumane killing of George Floyd. People around the world soon joined in to denounce racial injustice. The deaths of George Floyd and so many other People of Color, shows us how the current system is designed to devalue Black Lives. And the righteous uprising around the country filled with anger and disgust is exactly how we should respond. As long as systematic oppression exists, we will rise up against it. We will rage at the injustices. Economic and social justice are bonded at the root of justice.
What we’re seeing today is nothing new. It’s only being recorded and broadcasted. Yet, the government, companies and the purposeful ignorant people are choosing to stay in denial. They still doubt the experiences black men and women have had for centuries in this country. When people of all colors and backgrounds come together to fight against racial injustice, the nation needs to listen. When black men and women are fighting for their right to be respected and represented, the nation shall listen.
Saying, I can’t breathe, to finally have our nation fight against the social injustice against anyone with Black Skin, shows the deep level of systematic racism. Now is the time for our Black community to be treated as human beings, as we rightfully deserve.
We won’t stop fighting until we get what we want in this country. We need to fix this broken system where many of our brothers and sisters are targeted because of their race.
George Floyd’s murder was just another example of police brutality and racial injustice on the black community, enough was enough, when he said he could not breathe and called for his deceased mother, the black community stopped breathing.
It’s really hurtful to see this happen in 2020 and every year for the last 400. We had enough of the injustices displayed in America. Racism is turning our already complex social system to such a low, which is depriving humanity and our environment all together, “BLM” highlighting the most important causes, such as Inequality, Injustice and Racism is long overdue.
As we all are pointing fingers in multiple directions, one core issue today is police brutality and systemic racism which framed and killed Black Brothers and Sisters senselessly. This practice is still in full swing, destructive nature of force is used against innocents, aggressive attitudes, unpleasant behaviors are few to encounter, so many incidents for sure are not even reported due to the fear.
The nation we call the United States was built on the oppression of enslaved Africans and their descendants, and all of its social institutions reflect that to this day, including those committed to social service. This is a moment of reckoning with that history and its current-day manifestations and an opportunity for us to choose a new way forward.
For communities as diverse as the one IDG represents it is deeply important that we wrestle with the ways the US racial caste system shapes and impacts our lives, at the individual and societal level. We want to focus on the unity of all communities supporting the Black community around anti-racism. We stand with the tens of thousands of protesters, to demand radical changes that will change the root causes of social and economic injustices.
Our members, the majority are people of color, see this on a daily basis from riders, NYPD, TLC Police and the app companies. Systems that are simultaneously oppressing our members and devaluing their work and spirit.
Our members drive for Uber, Lyft and Via in New York City and face racism from customers every day. Too often, this turns into baseless complaints against drivers. Our members are the victims of unfair terminations, disproportionately upending the lives of people of color. Just one more staple of a racist system.
We are demanding the TLC and the App companies review their policies and practices pertaining to the systematic racism by riders. No one should fear losing their job because of what they look like, the color of their skin or where they come from.
Stop Asian Hate
As you know, there’s been a significant rise in anti-Asian Hate crimes in the past few years, in 2020, these crimes increased by nearly 150%.
These acts of violence are awful and disheartening. While we at Independent Drivers Guild are actively working with companies like Lyft and Uber to make driving safer for all drivers, we stand in solidarity with the whole Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
On Sunday, April 4th, we joined the Coalition of Asian-Americans for Civil Rights’ rally* to Stop Asian Hate, and we hope you can continue to spread awareness and condemn any sort of discrimination, as together we can stand against hate!