A mass of protesters gathered in DC over George Floyd’s death by Ted Eytan licensed under Creative Commons.

There is pain in our community today. This pain has more than a hundred thousand names — the names of those who have been lost in this pandemic. Today and every day we also name the hundreds and thousands more of those who suffer from more everyday forms of violence.

As we continue to advocate for public space and public transportation, we must remember those who continue to be harassed, profiled, threatened, attacked, and murdered while doing things many of us take for granted.

Christian Cooper was birdwatching in a public park when a white woman threatened to call the police after he asked her to follow the posted law. Omar Jimenez was arrested for practicing journalism.

A week ago today, George Floyd was sitting in his car about to head home when he was accosted by police officers, one of whom kneeled on his neck for 9 minutes until he died.

Keith Scott was reading a book in public. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. Trayvon Martin was walking home from the store. Oscar Grant was taking the train. Brennan Walker was just trying to find his way to school. Tamir Rice was playing in a park. Jordan Edwards was leaving a party. Stephon Clark was standing in his own backyard. Alton Sterling was selling CDs. Jordan Davis was playing music a bit loud. Sandra Bland was driving to the grocery store. And these are just the stories that made national news. There are so many more.

These individuals all have their race in common, and that they were seen as not having a right to belonging and safety while going about their daily life. We do not doubt that their experiences would have been very different had they been white.

A smaller protest in Farragut Park in DC. Image by Sanjida Rangwala.

At Greater Greater Washington, we have made a commitment to center equity in our coverage and advocacy. We would like to reiterate that commitment here with a promise.

We promise that when we ask for bicycle and pedestrian safety, we ask first for those neighborhoods where people’s safety needs have been neglected. When we ask for open streets, we commit to asking for equitable access to those streets and freedom from harassment in those spaces, including freedom from harassment and violence by law enforcement. We must dismantle cultures and structures of white supremacy as part and parcel with our work in dismantling structures of housing segregation and car dependence.

Bluntly put, we do not want walkable, bikeable, urban places and spaces that are unwelcoming or unsafe for some members of our community, especially those who have been and are continuing to be over-policed - Black men and boys. We fight for cities that work for all of us, not just white people, and not just those who are perceived as wealthy.

In the coming weeks and months, we will contemplate how our blog can play a bigger role in allying to the larger cause of freedom and belonging in public spaces. We invite you to hold us accountable in this effort.