Statement by Julián Castro on a Reimagined Justice System

This week, Trayvon Martin would have been 24 and Sandra Bland would have been 32.

Their birthdays, along with the continuing advocacy in Arizona to get Justice for Antonio, have me thinking this week about far too many families who have lost loved ones over the years to police violence.

When I announced I was running for President, I promised you that confronting and addressing police violence in communities of color would be one of my priorities.

I stand by what I said that day: if police in Charleston can arrest Dylann Roof after he murdered nine people at Bible study without hurting him, then don't tell me that Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice, and Aiyana Jones, and Eric Garner and Jason Pero, and Stephon Clark and Sandra Bland shouldn't still be alive today.

My team is still compiling your messages for the family of Antonio Arce, the 14-year-old who was killed last month while he was running away from police. We'll deliver them to his family, but it's not too late to sign your name.

If you support a reimagined justice system that treats all people, regardless of who they are or where they come from, with fairness, then help me make it a reality.

Will you share this message with four of your friends below, and help us build support for a new vision for our justice system?

Thank you for your courage,
Julián Castro