18 | JUNE 11 • 2020 

continued on page 21

Jewish Groups Respond 
to Civil Unrest

Interfaith leaders stand together to denounce racial injustice.

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
A

fter the police killing of George 
Floyd in Minneapolis May 25, civil 
unrest has broken out throughout 
the country, including in Detroit, Ann 
Arbor, Grand Rapids and others. 
In response to the events, many Metro 
Detroit Jewish organizations have shared 
their thoughts on Floyd’
s death, the protests 
and how best to stand with members of the 
black community during this time. 
The Coalition for Black and Jewish 
Unity, a partnership between the Jewish 
Community Relations Council/AJC and the 
Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and 
Vicinity, along with the Anti-Defamation 
League (ADL) Michigan chapter, released a 
joint statement on June 1 in response to the 
death of Floyd. 
“First, let’
s acknowledge that white people 
don’
t fully get it. We may be moved to the 
point of tears when we see racial injustice, 
but if we’
re being honest we must admit that 
we live different lives than people of color in 
this country and thus we don’
t/can’
t realize 
their experience in America,
” the statement 
read. “It just means that we mustn’
t pretend 
that we stand in their shoes, just like they 
don’
t stand in ours. Many Jews can surely 
relate to the ways in which non-Jews can 
empathize and support us and work with us 
in effective coalitions. Many American Jews 

lost family in the Holocaust. We know that 
many non-Jews are empathetic, and that 
touches our hearts immensely.
” 
The statement emphasizes the need 
to acknowledge the growing number of 
Jews of color in the community, and how 
Jews should not perceive them as invisible 
during this time. The organizations ask 
communities to come together and recog-
nize the changes that need to be made in 
our society. 
“There is much to be done. We must join 
hands and do this together. We must be for 
each other and we must do it now,
” read the 
statement. “This is a time for outrage, for 
there is much to be outraged about. But it’
s 
also a time for us to be outraged together. 
Our unity in the face of racial injustice is 
our strength. Good people of all colors, 
faiths and ethnicities can and must step up 
our efforts. This is a time for solidarity, for 
commitment, for community involvement.
”
The Coalition also hosted a June 4 Zoom 
webinar, “Dear White People... Please 
Listen”
, in which a selection of local black 
faith leaders shared their perspectives 
on racial injustice in America. The talk 
was recorded and can be viewed on the 
Coalition’
s Facebook page.
Also on June 4, Coalition members 
marched peacefully in Detroit alongside 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. 
Garlin Gilchrist II, Detroit Mayor Mike 
Duggan and several other interfaith leaders.
The National Council of Jewish Women, 
Michigan (NCJW) chapter’
s president, Amy 
Coulter, told the JN their mission state-
ment has always been to strive for social 
justice for all women, children and families, 
regardless of race. 
“We stand with the people who are 
protesting against the murder of George 
Floyd,
” Coulter said. “We demand justice 
as well and stand with all of our sister orga-
nizations and all of our sections across the 
country.
” 
The NCJW has chapters in 28 states and 
has roughly 90,000 members. 
“Our mission is social justice for all,
” 
Coulter said. “There is no line between 
color, between religion, between anything.
” 
Sarah Allyn, executive director of Repair 
the World Detroit, said she was horrified 
and saddened by the death of George Floyd. 
“
At Repair the World Detroit, we are 
making sure the people who have been 
impacted by this the most, our friends and 
colleagues in the black community, are 
making sure the white voices are not cen-
ter-stage,
” Allyn told the JN. “We really want 
to lift up the voices of the black folks who 
are being directly impacted here.
” 

Protesters and police clash in 
Detroit during demonstrations 
following the May 25 police killing 
of Minneapolis man George Floyd.

ALEXANDER CLEGG/JEWISH NEWS

Jews in the D
jews and racial justice

