Colorado Governor Jared Polis

"George Floyd’s life mattered. He was a human being — an American — entitled to the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That’s really what these demonstrations are all about — ensuring that everyone in our great state and nation have those rights.

I want to share something that gives me hope and optimism:

Earlier this week, a video of a different sort went viral. It was a video of George Floyd’s six-year-old daughter Gianna, being carried on the shoulders of one of George’s closest friends.  Smiling, she declares: “Daddy changed the world.”

He certainly did.

5 June 2020

President Barack Obama

"In some ways, as tragic as these past few weeks have been, as difficult and scary and uncertain as they’ve been, they’ve also been an incredible opportunity for people to be awakened to some of these underlying trends. They offer an opportunity for us to all work together to tackle them, to take them on, to change America and make it live up to its highest ideals. Part of what’s made me so hopeful is the fact that so many young people have been galvanized and activated and motivated and mobilized because historically so much of the progress that we’ve made in our society has been because of young people. Dr. King was a young man when he got involved. Cesar Chavez was a young man. Malcolm X was a young man. The leaders of the feminist movement were young people. Leaders of union movements were young people. The leaders of the environmental movement in this country and the movement to make sure that the LGBT community finally had a voice and was represented were young people.

"When sometimes I feel despair, I just see what’s happening with young people all across the country and the talent and the voice and the sophistication that they’re displaying, and it makes me feel optimistic. It makes me feel as if this country is going to get better."

June 2020