Dear John,

Justice should not, cannot, be denied.

As the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd comes to a close, I am joined by so many of you in watching to see if this verdict will be an important step in the pursuit of justice and accountability or another reminder of a broken system that is unable to take any steps forward.

This moment comes as we are horrified by new outrages against people of color. You may have seen the jarring videos showing the police shooting and killing Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota and 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago; and pepper spraying and striking Army Second Lt. Caron Nazario during a traffic stop in Virginia.

We have also been battered by an unrelenting wave of mass shootings in recent weeks, attacks that are driven by a wide range of motivations, but that together bring us anger, fear, despair, sadness, exhaustion and so many other raw emotions.

TIME TO SPEAK OUT FOR JUSTICE

ADL’s mission — to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all — remains critical at this moment.

In the words of Elie Wiesel, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

This is a vital time to speak out for equity and justice for the Black community, including many Jews of color, without easing up on the struggle for equity and justice for the Latinx community, the Asian community, the Jewish community and for everyone in our nation, regardless of where injustices originate on the political spectrum.

As we all must call for accountability for the officer who put his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes as he begged for his life, we should also continue to call for change in the thinking and systems that have institutionalized racism, that have permitted double-standards in policing and that continue to target communities of color today.

Nearly a year after George Floyd’s death, we remain heartbroken and outraged, but we are also determined to address the deep, pervasive, systemic issues that fueled this tragedy.

The struggle against racism, hatred and bigotry requires the participation of all of us, speaking out together as one at this moment.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Greenblatt

CEO and National Director

ADL