News & Updates

SIECUS condemns racist police violence, stands in solidarity with Black community

For Immediate Release
May 29, 2020

Contact: Zach Eisenstein
Phone: (202) 265-2405 ext 3330
zeisenstein@siecus.org

(Washington, DC) — As protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white police officer, continue in cities across the country, Christine Soyong Harley, SIECUS’ President & CEO, released the following statement:

“This has been a devastating time for our country and a particularly dangerous one for Black people living in it. Amid a pandemic that disproportionately devastates Black communities every day, we have also seen a number of widely publicized murders of Black people at the hands of white police officers. 

Today, SIECUS stands in solidarity with Black people everywhere. We cannot advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights without acknowledging the racist systems that continue to run our country, cause disparate health outcomes for Black people, and—quite literally—end Black lives. 

We stand firmly dedicated to advancing sex education to spark social change. And we promise to continue our efforts to name and address racism and its impact on our field, our policies, and the sex education instruction we ultimately advance for young people across the U.S.

We mourn for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the many, many other Black lives that have been needlessly taken by racism and hate. But, beyond that, in this heartbreaking moment, SIECUS commits to working harder to center Black people in both our work and in our lives.”

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SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change has served as the national voice for sex education for 55 years, asserting that sexuality is a fundamental part of being human, one worthy of dignity and respect. Through policy, advocacy, education, and strategic communications efforts, SIECUS advances sex education as a vehicle for social change—working toward a world where all people can access and enjoy sexual and reproductive freedom as they define it for themselves.

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