Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James Says Frustration and Anger Understandable; Violence Distracting

Kay Coles James, president of the Heritage Foundation, penned an op-ed for Fox News about the “senseless and completely unjustified killing” of George Floyd and the subsequent riots.

“While I understand the frustration and anger,” James writes, “I do not condone the violence spreading across this country in response to Floyd’s horrific killing. Rioting tearing apart Minneapolis and cities coast-to-coast will never lead to anything but more suffering. Those who are committing crimes are distracting us from the even larger group of people who are peacefully demonstrating.”

The police officer who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, even though he had to know Floyd was in distress, has been charged with manslaughter and third-degree murder. The process of justice has begun. So what are the rioters, the destroyers of businesses, after?

“There is no other country like ours in the world – nothing compares to its greatness,” James wrote. “But the issue of racism is America’s Achilles’ heel. It has been embedded into our culture for 400 years, since the first Africans were seized from their homes on the other side of the world and brought to colonial America in chains and enslaved.

“The racism experienced by black Americans is not a political issue and to anyone who tries to use it as one, on the left or the right, I say shame on you. No longer should our communities be pieces in a grand chess game.

“The promise of the Declaration of Independence that we are all created equal applies to people of every race. This is not about politics – it is about morality.”

James’s message to people who are angry and frustration to allow our founding principles to guide us. Reject racism and division, and we can do so in a peaceful way.

“Simple acts like starting a dialogue with a neighbor or teaching your children the difference between right and wrong can have a profound impact now and for generations to come.

“Nothing can bring George Floyd back to life. But if his horrific and needless death proves to be a turning point to make Americans finally end the ugly racism that stains our nation’s history and afflicts us like a cancer of the soul, he will leave behind a legacy we sorely need.”