Dear Neighbors,
I have no doubt that the Edina Police Department is an excellent organization that deserves wide public support. But so are the Edina Fire Department and two libraries among other local agencies.
Yet the flowering of lawn signs reported in the September 15, 2016 Sun Current expresses gratitude only to the police. Why? Hasn’t it got something to do with the recent, horrific police killings in Dallas and continuing nationwide — a reaction to the outcry against police brutality and mass incarceration? And isn’t it a way to deflect attention from the outrageous truth that for 400 to 500 years Black and also Native Americans lives have really not mattered?
If there are truly no racial overtones to the “Thank you” campaign, I invite every sign owner to complement each EPD placard with one that simply states “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” They’re available at eight dollars apiece at Northern Sun, 2916 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis, 612-729-2001.
And for details on the emergent Native Lives Matter movement, read the feature article in the latest In The Times.
Sanford Berman lives in Edina.
Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.