After killings in Dallas, Education Minnesota calls for peaceful progress

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ST. PAUL, Minn. July 8, 2016 – Education Minnesota President Denise Specht released the following statement Friday in response to the killing of five police officers in Dallas by an apparent sniper or snipers during a protest march Thursday night.

“Five police officers in Dallas were assassinated while protecting Americans exercising their fundamental right to protest peacefully. Our hearts go out to the families of the officers, and to all the members of the law enforcement community who do their best to keep us safe. Their jobs just became even harder.  

“However, we cannot forget the protest in Dallas was a reaction to the hurt felt by African-Americans to the killing of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. This cycle of violence must end. We cannot relieve the pain of one community by inflicting suffering on another. Our students need their adults to build a nation with more opportunities and less discrimination, more trust and less hate, and more justice and less revenge. It can be done, but only peacefully.”

About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.