TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday vowed tough conversations and action aimed at combating systemic racism in Kansas institutions in response to what she called the “tragic murder” of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Protesters have marched for the last several days in cities in Kansas and nationwide after the death last week of Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against his neck until he stopped breathing.
Kelly began her periodic news converence on the coronavirus outbreak by saying that her heart goes out to Floyd’s friends and family and “the black communities around the nation reliving the trauma of violence and systemic racism.”
“For too long we’ve supressed or ignored those who are suffering and have asked for our help,” she said. “Institutional racism exists throughout our socieity, our economy and our laws, from our criminal justice system to our educational institutuions to our public health infrastructure.”
Kelly, a Democrat, said she’s asked her team to give the issue their full attention and to come up with a plan to “take action in earnest.”
“We’re finally going to treat this as if lives depended upon it, because they do,” she said.
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During. her Monday press briefing, Governor Laura Kelly opened with comments on the protest in Kansas and around the country over George Floyd’s death in Minnesota. She also discussed the latest updates regarding COVID-19 and the special session of the State Legislature that begins Wednesday.
The Governor was joined by Dr. Lee Norman, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, for today’s briefing.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 292 to a total of 10, 011 the state health department reported Monday afternoon. Coronavirus deaths in Kansas are 217.