FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NAACP Mourns for Orlando Victims
WASHINGTON, DC - In a gathering with leadership of the Human Rights Campaign and civil rights allies Sunday in Washington, DC, NAACP President Cornell William Brooks issued the following statement in response to the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando by a heavily-armed man overnight:
“On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the NAACP I want to assert clearly that we stand shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart and hand in hand with our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community.
“When you violate, when you desecrate, when you assassinate the humanity of any of us, it is a civil rights issue at the top of the NAACP’s agenda. This moment that we find ourselves in is a trying hour in the midst of this imperfect union of American democracy.
“We should remember that this is the holy month of Ramadan, as well as Pride month. It is nearly a year to the day when nine students of scripture were assassinated in a church in Charleston, S.C. When people take the lives of God’s children on the Sabbath day, people of every faith, every ethnicity and every hue have to stand up, take notice and speak out. It is just that clear.
“Our hearts are extended to every man and woman who lost their relative, a child, a loved one or a friend. As we continue to see the devastation and horror this latest act of hate has caused, we must create empathy and compassion to stand against it. This is a trying hour, a difficult hour, but we are in the midst of a season of love, where we will all stand up for the rights of one another. We continue to call for sensible gun control, and for a society that allows every person to live without persecution for being who they are.
“This day was a violation against our values as Americans. As such, we have to be clear, we have to be strong and we have to demonstrate our resolve. We will not allow the forces of hate to take down our citizens or turn us away from our devotion to a better world. We will not allow our values to be violated.”
