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Friend —
Bend the Arc rises in solidarity with the movement for
Black lives and the powerful uprising all across this country
demanding dignity and justice for George Floyd, Breonna
Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, James Scurlock, David
McAtee and countless other Black lives taken at the hands of police
officers and white supremacist violence.
In this moment, we are being called as a country to dismantle the
centuries-old structures of white supremacy that dehumanize and
terrorize Black people — and to build a more just America in its
place.
We call for our Jewish community, especially white Jews, to rise up
for Black lives using all of our spiritual, political and intellectual
resources — and to also work to dismantle racism and white supremacy
in our Jewish community.
Here are 3 things our Jewish community can do right now
to show our commitment to Black lives and Black liberation, including
to Black Jews:
1.
Support the Movement for Black Lives week of action June
1-5
The Movement For Black Lives, and organizers
mobilizing across the country, invite you to uplift and fight
alongside those turning up in the streets and online.
2.
Sign the petition for #JusticeForFloyd
Join over 3
million people who added their name to Color of Change’s petition
demanding the officers who killed George Floyd be charged with
murder.
3.
Support the leadership of Black women in
Congress
Call your House representative right now
and demand that they co-sponsor and push for a vote on Ayanna
Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Barbara Lee, and Karen Bass’s resolution to
condemn police brutality, racial profiling, and use of excessive
force.
We’ll share more ways to act throughout the
week.
Last Thursday night, we entered the holiday of Shavuot,
commemorating the moment that we received the Torah and became the
Jewish people, with a social contract and obligations to one
another.
The protests of this past week are calling our country to examine
our social contract — and to take action for Black lives. This
includes not just ending police violence and mass incarceration but
investment in housing, health, education, community,
and care.
It’s past time to build an America where Black people are no longer
killed by the police. It’s past time to see that these demands
for the safety and dignity of Black lives are the floor, not the
ceiling, for a society in which we are all truly free to live
and love.
That promise of a liberated future is being called into
being by Black organizers and activists. Thousands of
Americans, young and old, of all races and ethnicities, are already in
the streets, providing mutual aid, donating to bail funds, and calling
for justice.
But we also see police forces in city after city erupting
in violence against Black protesters, elected officials, and
journalists alike (after ignoring armed far-right militia groups at
Reopen protests — and a rapid descent into state violence) a violence
that Black liberation movements have faced throughout our country's
history. And we see white nationalists trying to take
advantage of the situation to fuel a race war, while the president
repeatedly calls for violence against Black people and protesters.
Right now a more just America is struggling to be born. Our
choice is clear: We rise as one so we can thrive as many.
Thank you for everything you are able to do this week and the
coming weeks for Black lives.
In solidarity,
The Bend the Arc team
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