~ P E T I T I O N ~

In a statement published on June 23, 2020, Steve Murray, the Executive Director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH), with the approval of the Board of Trustees, crossed over from state employee to a political left-wing activist by declaring “Systemic racism remains a reality in American society.” (Statement HERE)

Going against the ADAH mission expressed under Alabama Code 41-6-2, Murray and the Board of Trustees violated Alabama Code 41-6-8, Section 4. Alabama Code 41-6-8, Section 4 is specific: The Executive Director shall “diffuse knowledge in reference to the history and resources of the State” .. of Alabama. Discussing ‘systemic racism’ and associating it with the death of George Floyd is social activism and taking a certain political point of view. Social activism is not expressed or implied in 41-6-8, section 4 of the Code of Alabama.

Nor do the facts support Murray’s Statement. On June 10, 2021, the Alabama State Board of Education issued a resolution declaring, “.. the United States of American is not an inherently racist country, and that the State of Alabama is not an inherently racist state…” (Board Resolution)

Perhaps, the most important piece of evidence comes from the State of Alabama’s very own agent, the general government. Released days before Mr. Biden’s inauguration, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics examined whether people of different races were arrested to a degree that was disproportionate to their involvement in crime. The report concluded that there was no statistically significant difference by race between how likely people were to commit serious violent crimes and how likely they were to be arrested. In other words, the data suggested that police officers and sheriff’s deputies focus on criminals’ actions, not their race. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, ‘systemic racism’ does not exist in American society, specifically in law enforcement. (Source)

Systemic RACISM is discrimination.

Therefore, for these reasons, Governor Ivy, we, the concerned citizens of the State of Alabama, declare the Director and Board of the ADAH ‘Statement of Recommitment’ dated June 23, 2020 as ‘NULL’ and ‘VOID’. We, the citizens that elected you to do your duty to officially do the same, remove Steve Murray from his position and replace the Board of Trustees for issuing such a divisive public statement.

SIGN Petition Here