W

hen Shabbat ended 
Saturday, May 30, 
Ashira Solomon 
sat uncomfortably in front 
of her computer as she pro-
cessed images of protesters 
and police clashing on the 
streets of Detroit over police 
brutality and racial injustice. 
Solomon, who is a Jew of 
color, described feeling abso-
lutely devastated.
A subsequent text from her 
best friend helped ease some 

of the pain. “I hope you know 
this goes without saying, but 
I’
m going to say it anyway 
because I feel it’
s necessary,” 
the message said. “We see 
you, we love you and we sup-
port you.”
“My best friend is a dirty 
blonde, green-eyed Jewish girl 
who grew up across the street 
from me,” Solomon said. “As 
children, we came from two 
different worlds, but when 
met, our souls connected 

instantly.” 
Locally, Jews of color have 
expressed a range of emotions 
as they continue to process 
all that has happened in the 
country since the May 25 
death of George Floyd, a 
Minneapolis man killed by a 
white police officer pressing 
his knee into the man’
s neck. 
The officer has since been 
arrested and charged with 
second-degree murder, and 
three other officers have been 

charged in connection with 
his death, but the protests 
over systemic racism in polic-
ing have raged on. 
In February, the Jewish 
News profiled Solomon and 
other Jews of color in an 
article about the joys and 
challenges of being a minority 
among a minority. This week 
we invited those individuals 
to share their thoughts on the 
protests, the death of George 
Floyd, the current state of our 
country and what they would 
like to see from their Jewish 
community. This is what they 
said. 

OLIVIA GUTERSON, DETROIT 
I’
m heartbroken, scared and 
exhausted. I’
m seven months 
pregnant with a black child 
and deeply concerned about 
the world they will be born 
into. I hope everyone is pay-
ing attention and listening 
to the pain, sorrow and rage, 
and that there is a collective 
understanding that the tragic, 
unnecessary death of George 
Floyd and many others are 
not isolated events, but the 
reality of America’
s 400-year 
epidemic that is American 
racism.
I’
ve had a lot of white 
friends, co-workers and com-
munity members reach out, 
expressing their sorrow and 
pain and asking what they 
should do. I wish instead of 
asking me and other BIPOC 
(Black Indigenous People 
of Color) to educate and 
shoulder their trauma, they 
took time to listen to what 
the community is telling the 
world we need (and have 
needed) and creating space to 
witness our feelings, process-
ing and coping. 
Vote, donate, read books, 

14 | JUNE 11 • 2020 

“Heartbroken,
Scared and
Exhausted”

Local Jews of color respond 
to George Floyd’
s death.

Olivia 
Guterson

PHOTOS TAKEN BY CJ BENNINGER OF OLIVIA GUTERSON

AS TOLD TO JEN LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jews in the D
jews and racial justice

