Statement from PPAC President and CEO Jodi Hicks on Derek Chauvin Verdict

Date: April 20, 2021

SACRAMENTO  —  Jodi Hicks, President/CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, on the guilty verdict Derek Chauvin received for the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

“There's no greater threat to Black lives than violence inflicted at the hands of the state – through blatant police violence and centuries of policy that have systematically oppressed Black people. Today, we saw some accountability in the guilty verdicts for Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. There is hope, but the fight for true justice continues.

“The policing of Black bodies extends far beyond the actions of individual police officers. It is in our workplaces, our schools, our public institutions. It is in our health care system. If Black people do not have the right to bodily autonomy in their daily lives — or the right to protest the violence against them — without the fear of violence or murder, we can never achieve justice, let alone reproductive freedom.

“The systems that built America have demonstrated a disregard for Black people's humanity. I am relieved at today’s verdict. We demanded accountability for George Floyd’s murder, but we will not have justice until we’ve dismantled the systems of oppression taking Black lives.”

 

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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is the state public policy office representing California’s seven separately incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates. Through advocacy and electoral action, PPAC promotes sound public policy in areas of sexual and reproductive health care and sex education.