“As the Director of African-American & Community Outreach with the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, I applaud BET Chairwoman Deborah Lee for using her platform and influence to address the ‘appalling’ gun violence occurring in our country today during her remarks at the 2016 BET Awards. As the head of the largest African-American media outlet, she showed real courage by speaking to the problem of gun violence while encouraging her audience to advocate for legislative reform. She has added urgency to the national push for reform that was ignited over the previous two weeks by Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Now the rest of us must follow her lead, and do our best to make a difference by demanding accountability from our elected officials (Democrat and Republican), educating our communities about the causes and scope of the problem, and advocating for policies that are necessary in order to stop the bloodshed and preserve life.”
###
