San Francisco police on Monday celebrated the installation of posters meant to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, now on display at every police station throughout the city.
The 27-by-54-inch posters reaffirm the department's commitment to end systematic racism in response to nationwide protests this year that have called for law enforcement accountability and for local leaders to invest in Black communities.
"Black lives do matter to us and we will do everything in our power to make sure that we change the narrative of the historic issues, problems, disparities that have really been an issue for our country since its founding," said San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott during an event to celebrate the posters' unveiling at the city's Bayview District Station.
"We know that's going to take a lot of work, it's going to take a lot of commitment. But we are committed in showing that Black lives matter to us, but that this department really wants to make difference and be a leader as this national discussion goes on," he said.
The posters are the result of a San Francisco Police Commission resolution passed in July, authored by both Commission Vice President Damali Taylor and Commissioner Dion-Jay Brookter.
According to Brookter, the idea of posters first came from a collaborative process with community members.
In addition, the posters were also created with help from each of SFPD's several bureaus and stations, with each bureau and station adding to the poster a brief statement about what the Black Lives Matter movement means to them.
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"This resolution was authored alongside community members that said, symbols matter to us and we want a symbol in all of our San Francisco stations saying that we stand with Black Lives Matter," Brookter said.
"This is just one small step in the right direction as we continue to push forward reform here in San Francisco to make our department the best department in the nation."
