In our understa served communit and those that have had a dramatic reduction in their revenue. Tim walz is about to address the states response to George Floyds death, an africanamerican man who died in police custody. Youre watching live coverage on cspan 3. I just want to give a heartfelt thank you to a lot of people for the peace and the generosity, the kindness and the love thats been shown on our streets of minneapolisst. Paul and across minnesota over the last several days. Last evening was another example of that. We saw peaceful protests across the city. We saw memorials continue to grow for george floyd. Down on 38th and chicago. We saw beautiful interactions on the State Capitol where out of respect the National Guard troops there told the protesters out of respect they would go back away to the building and take care of those vehicles that were out front which, of course, they did. Not protesters at that point. Certainly neighbors and friends and agents of change. We saw thousands gather in front of the beautiful minnesota governors residence that my family and i have the privilege of occupying for a short time. The pain of the families that were there was visceral. The anger of a system that seems to continue on. A group of people that know very clearly this isnt about a broken system. This is about a system thats functioning absolutely as it was designed. Unfortunately, thats meant to exclude some from it. We have an opportunity today to watch up on the capitol and i couldnt be more proud of this, state patrol, st. Paul police, National Guard, others up there, set up tents for first aid. Its hot in minnesota today and well take it. Theyre handing out water. Theyre making sure everybodys taken care of and theyre interacting with their neighbors and thats who ther. I want to give a final thank you of the peace that we were able to see yesterday that started with a very powerful and Emotional Message from Terrance Floyd at the site of his brother georges death. Terrances big brother was killed on that site and the little brother was there to try and understand and just a week into this with unimaginable pain, Terrance Floyd stood up proud, stood up strong and told us he expects justice and he expects change, but he expects us to do it with a sense of our community, not with violence, not with fires, not with looting. On behalf of the people of minnesota st. Paul and all of minnesota, we owe Terrance Floyd and the floyd family an immense debt of gratitude to help bring that message and bring that peace. We also owe them what i heard yesterday, i walked outside my house and its very clear thats not a place they needed to hear me and as some said, you should listen but dont expect to get any credit for listening if you dont do something about it because weve heard it before. When they mean weve heard it before, theyre not just even talking in minnesota, which they certainly are talking about that, but i think all of us have come to understand were not going to restore peace on our streets by having a bigger group of National Guard show up. Were not going to establish peace on our streets by keeping a curfew in place all the time. Were going to establish peace on our streets when we address the systemic issues that caused it in the first place and that is what every voice on the capitol is saying, voices in front of my house is saying, thats what Terrance Floyd is saying and thats what we need to start saying. Whether it was from the colonial period through jim crow, its still with us. And here in minnesota, and across this country and now the world, if this is not an Inflection Point to change that or risk what were seeing, this will come back again if its not addressed. This will not go away once the fires are put out and theres a lull. And i think weve seen very clearly if you can create the space to start doing that, you separate out those who have no time or tolerance for destruction from those who have no time or tolerance for systemic racism. Those are two different things. So i hear you and ive listened to Community Leaders and we together have seen this. City Council Members and others and are asking for structural change, specifically things that we can deal with and today, im here to talk about the structural change that needs to start with the Minneapolis Police department and i can tell you this, i have talked to countless officers, i saw them take a knee out of respect in front of my house yesterday. Although there werent a lot of people there happy with them, but they did it because theres not one of those officers i talked to that wasnt sickened to the core about what they witnessed. Knowing that when youre part of an organization the culture permeates all of us. A culture that allows things to happen. A culture where the public cannot trust. We know that this is systemic not just in minneapolis and minnesota, but it needs to start somewhere. It needs to start where we know things happen. And i know what organizations look like when youre serving. I have served in some of the finest organizations whether they were Public Schools or whether in the National Guard. And the leadership and the type of things youre committed to make a difference. And they can be generational. We know that deeply seeded issues exist and the reason i know it is we saw the casual nature of the erasing of George Floyds life and humanity. We also know by the reaction of the community, they expected nothing to happen. And the reason is, because nothing did happen for so many times. I hear and listen and stood next to mothers who lost their children in this and say so many times as i heard mayor carter say, ive heard others echo, being black should not be a death sentence. For each and every one of us in Law Enforcement, you dont get judged right on the spot. Especially with the finality of being killed in police custody. So minnesotans you can expect our administration to use every tool at our disposal to try to deconstruct systemic racism that is generations deep and we need to do it with the community, but i think the thing im hearing from the protesters is, were not watching and we dont care what you say. We care what you do. So today as a step towards that deconstruction of systemic racism the Minnesota Department of human rights is filing a commissioners charge of discrimination to launch a civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police department. The investigation will review mpds policies procedures and practices over the last ten years to determine if the department has utilized systemic discriminatory practices towards people of chore. Minnesota has one the of the strongest rights in the country it is illegal for Police Departments to discriminate against someone because of their race. This is the first time the state is launching a civil rights investigation into the systemic discriminatory practices of the largest Police Department in the state. It is also the only investigation surrounding the killings of george floyd how cussing on the policies and practices implemented by the Minneapolis Police department. When the Minnesota Department of human rights finds civil Rights Violations they seek change to prevent it from occurring again. They will seek an agreement with the Minneapolis Police department to implement interim measures immediately in advance of longterm measures to address systemic discriminatory practices. This effort is only one of many steps to come in our efforts to restore trust within those communities who have been unseen, unheard, and believe that those that are charged to serve and protect not only dont do that, they work against them. And i say this as a white man who walks through life with pretty much relative ease, i cant ever know the pain of that black Community Members but i hear you, im listening and one of the things i need to do is use that ability to change and build coalitions to make this situation that has become intolerable across the nation that will not go away with tough talk and more people on the streets in uniform, it will go away with the sense of community you see being displayed on the State Capitol lawn today with Law Enforcement and the people that they serve seeing themselves as neighbor in the same society and the same opportunities for their children. Youre going to hear from a group of leaders in here and from the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of human rights, youre going to hear from a Community Leader whose voice booms throughout these issues and youre going to hear from someone who has walked with me and has let me see through the eyes of a different perspective and someone who has been at the heart of the changes and asking for systemic changes, Lieutenant Governor peggy flanagan. Good afternoon and thank you. Thank you, governor. The murder of george floyd is a tragedy. It is heartbreaking and it should have never happened. But lets be clear, it does not exist in isolation. George floyd, George Floyds name joins a too long list of black men and women who have been needlessly killed at the hands of Law Enforcement across this country. The grief and anger that has torn through our city and through our state did not emerge in a vacuum. It is built on years of injustice. This did not begin with george floyd but we can work to end it now. Understand the leadership of commissioner rebecca lusero our administration has launched a civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police department. Not just around one case, but an investigation of the past ten years. What is clear is that tragedies like the one that happened to george floyd do not emerge from a few isolated bad actors, but from patterns of misconduct, a culture, and this is cultural, a culture that does not hold bad behavior accountable. This is not something that we can fix in one day or in one week, but we must pursue meaningful, structural change. George floyd deserves this of us. And every Single Person who is impacted by this culture desevgd deserves this of us. I said this past saturday that the swell of mourning and grief and anger has been just below the surface in our state, and now it has burst into public and national view. Communities have been asking and organizing for structural change of the Minneapolis Police department for years. Their work has paved the way for what we are launching here today. This is one piece of the puzzle to getting justice for george floyd and all black minnesotans who have not been served or protected by the Minneapolis Police department. It is one piece of the puzzle to holding all four officers accountable for georges murder and changing the culture that made them, a culture that does not value the lives of black minnesotans. As a light skinned native woman, i grapple daily with my role and in particular over the last week i have grappled with my role as a light skinned native woman, but also as a Lieutenant Governor of minnesota to do everything i can to undo the antiblackness that lives within our community and within our state. This action that were taking today is one tangible step forward that is critical to correcting the injustice that plagues us. This problem has been years in the making, but we have an opportunity to seize this moment, to make it better, to take a solid first step of many, many steps that we must do in each branch of government to deconstruct the system of racism that frankly have always has always existed in this state. We can and we must. We must take this moment to change it all. And with that i would like to introduce to you commissioner Rebecca Lucero of the Minnesota Department of human rights. Good afternoon. My name is Rebecca Lucero and im the commissioner of the department of human rights. I want to start real quick by Holding Space for all the people i carry with me today, all my ancestors, all my Community Members and leaders who have done the work for generations to create a beloved community. I honor your work and i join with you in solidarity as we continue to move forward together. As the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of human rights, my agency is charged with enforcing one of the strongest civil rights laws in the country. The minnesota human rights act. Today we continue our ongoing work to secure justice by announcing that our department is opening a civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police department. Under the minnesota human rights act it is illegal for a Police Department to discriminate against someone because of their race. When our Department Finds civil Rights Violations, we seek structural change. Our investigation will look at the Minneapolis Police department over the past ten years to determine if they have utilized systemic discriminatory practices towards people of color. We will review training, policies, procedures and practices. The death of george floyd is what launched this investigation. George floyd should be alive. He deserved to live a life full of dignity and joy. What we know to be true, what mayor fry, the governor, Lieutenant Governor and countless Community Members have repeatedly stressed is that communities of color and indigenous communities are facing today is the direct result of 400 years of decisions to create and sustain systems, policies and processes that have resulted time and time again in systemic discrimination and oppression. Minnesota has some of the worst Racial Disparities in the country. We say it all the time. Its across the board in housing, employment, education and the criminal justice system. Decisions that keep black and brown Community Members from living full lives, these full lives that they can enjoy. Thats why this investigation is different. Unlike the other investigations which are critically important this is looking at the system. This is not about Holding People personalitily, criminally liable. This is about systems change. Todays announcement is important and i need to acknowledge that call to action for structural change is not new which has been stressed repeatedly and cannot be stressed enough. Community leaders have been asking for structural change for decades working for it, bleeding for it and dying for it. They have fought for it and its essential we acknowledge the work and commitment of those who have paved the path to make todays announcement possible and all of those who will continue to do the work in partnership to make these changes. The minnesota human rights act is a powerful tool. We have the tool in our state intentionally and its there to help address systemic racism and discrimination and using that tool today as we do every day to break down policies and practices that lead to illegal discrimination. The law boldly exclaims discrimination threatens the rights and privileges of the inhabitants of the state and menaces the institutions of democracy. That was written over 50 years ago and it rings true today. Hate and discrimination cannot be part of the fabric of this great state. We can and must choose to do better. Were making this announcement today in part because we need your help. Its, of course, going to take all of us, community, city leadership, police, every single one of us to move forward. This is a moment in time and we have to grasp this. If you have any information that can further our investigation we encourage you to contact us by submitting information on our website, thats at minnesota mm. Gov or calling our office. All of us are called to do everything we can not just to prevent future deaths but to end the systemic racism that is leading to all of these outcomes throughout minnesota. We are deeply inner connected and we need each other. Thank you very much. Yes. Im going to welcome [ inaudible ]. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is justin. Im the executive director of the council for minnesotans of african heritage. The council, we play an advisory role to the governor and legislature on issues that impact the africanamerican Heritage Community and i want to commend the governor and the Lieutenant Governor for taking this action today because that is exactly what our community needs. We need action. For generations, actually we have over 150 years of policing in this state with a body of evidence that suggests that there are gross violations of the civil rights of black people in the state of minnesota. When i think about what our ancestors did with less, it is disappointing that we have admired this problem for the last ten years since Michelle Alex