“White nationalism anywhere is a threat to all of us
everywhere.”
— Ginna Green
Friend,
We can’t fight what we don’t understand. In the wake of a white
nationalist attack targeting the Black community in Buffalo, we
gathered last week to be in community, honor the victims, and learn
about what’s happening in this country — and how we can respond in
solidarity.
On the call, we discussed the dangerous ideology that motivated the
shooting — the same set of conspiracy theories and lies that connect
it to other horrifying acts of violence in Pittsburgh, El Paso,
Christchurch, and Poway.
White supremacy is the greatest threat to the dream of a democratic
America where every single person can be safe and thrive. We must
respond to this threat with the full moral courage and political
strength this moment requires.
One
action you can take right now is donating directly to groups on the
ground in Buffalo who are serving the Black
community.
Here are four key reflections from last week’s
national community call:
|
“Our tradition teaches us that each life is a whole world… Pearl
Young… Andre Mackniel… Roberta Drury… Heyward Patterson… Ruth
Whitfield… Celestine Chaney… Aaron Salter… Geraldine Talley… Margus
Morrison… Katherine Massey… We remember them, each an entire lost
world. We remember them in resistance to an act of violence that seeks
to dehumanize and destroy, to limit and exclude. All of our worlds are
diminished by the taking of their worlds.”
— Jamie Beran,
Interim CEO, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
|
|
“White nationalism anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere. We
remember the shooting at the Tree of Life and the organizers and
people on the ground who worked so deeply and so closely with Black,
brown, and Muslim allies in Pittsburgh. We were able to come together
to honor the lives of those who were lost. We are in this fight
together.”
— Ginna Green, Bend the Arc Board Member and
Partner at Uprise
|
|
“Across the country we're seeing an authoritarian coalition that's
continuing to seize and to consolidate power… They're rolling back
voting rights, rolling back abortion rights, attacking Black and brown
and LGBTQ folks, and they're spreading antisemitism.
We need
to build a coalition between all of our different communities,
honoring the many identities that are within the Jewish community as
well. We literally can't end antisemitism without also ending
anti-Blackness and we can't end anti-Blackness without also ending
antisemitism. That's the kind of intersectional coalition that we're
going to need to keep each other safe and to defeat authoritarianism
in our country.”
— Ben Lorber, Political Research
Associates
|
|
“White supremacy is going to keep knocking on our door until we
dismantle it completely. And so Jews are at a turning point. More and
more of us are coming to understand that the compromise in America
that worked for some of us was not actually stable ground for Jewish
well-being. That our future depends on building a multiracial
democracy in the United States. And we don't know what that's going to
look like, because we've never had one.”
— April Rosenblum,
author of The Past Didn't Go Anywhere
|
Part of fighting for multiracial democracy is investing in
the safety and well-being of the communities most impacted by the harm
of white supremacy.
The horrific, racist shooting in Buffalo comes alongside so many
other injustices disproportionately impacting Black communities, like
the fight for abortion rights and reproductive freedom, an
unprecedented nationwide formula shortage, and the once-unfathomable
milestone of one million Covid deaths.
We’re encouraging direct fundraising for five organizations
in Buffalo that are working daily to address systemic white supremacy
and resource their community. Right now, they’re directly
responding to the closure of the Tops supermarket after the shooting
by providing important resources like food, diapers, and healing
spaces.
Donate
now to directly support community organizations in Buffalo — then
make sure to share the list with your friends, neighbors, and
community groups and encourage them to donate too.
Keeping Buffalo in our hearts,
The Bend the Arc team
|
