JUNE 11 • 2020 | 21
can’
t legislate racism.
’
I can’
t
make anyone like me or dislike
me because of the color of my
skin. But I sure can protect the
environment we work and live
in, create laws that will swiftly
hold those to the judicial pro-
cess and make sure everyone
knows if you choose to do this,
there are consequences.
”
Lawrence was grateful for the
peaceful protestors in Detroit,
where there was little arson or
looting like there was in the
1960s when she was a child.
“We burned up our city and
we destroyed it. There’
s enough
of us around who aren’
t going
to let that happen,
” Lawrence
said.
The black community was
also devastated by the impact
of the coronavirus pandemic
in Michigan. Lawrence knew
many people, including two
family members, who were
diagnosed with the virus and
battled the illness.
“We have been locked up
in our homes, grieving deaths
and sickness with this virus and
then when this happened; it was
like dry brush and this event
was the flame that just lit up all
of these emotions,
” Lawrence
said. “It was just back to back,
with the young man who was
jogging down the street and was
shot down like he was animal
prey and somebody was hunt-
ing him. The disregard of life
for the young lady who was in
her own apartment and police
broke in and took her life.
“
And then, to watch a man
die, and take his last breath,
from what I call a modern day
lynching, because when you
lynch someone, you cut off the
air by their neck and that’
s what
happened here. To watch that,
it was just too much. We had
to get out and scream and tell
people that this is not right, and
we deserve more because we are
Americans.
”
Lawrence called on local
mayors, governors and the
president to unite the country
as one, instead of causing more
division.
“We should vote for those
people who understand their
job is to bring us together and
to be the uniter of these United
States of America, of your city
and of your state,
” Lawrence
said. “We don’
t elect people
who will divide us and actually
prey on parts of our community
and make them disposable.
”
Lawrence encourages the
black and Jewish communities
to engage with “the Black-
Jewish dialogue.
” When she was
younger, she said, people would
open their homes and sit with
one another, listen to each other
and form inclusive bonds.
“We have moved this dia-
logue to synagogues and town
halls, but what about that inti-
mate setting in someone’
s home
talking about what is happen-
ing, especially now?” Lawrence
said. “I’
m a firm believer that
when small groups of people
come together on the same
issue we can truly start making
a difference.
”
Serving formerly as
Southfield’
s mayor and now as
a congresswoman, Lawrence is
proud of the connections of the
black and Jewish communities
in her district. While it is not a
reality in a lot of areas through-
out the country, it is a powerful
tool that the community can
use to fight for the equality and
justice that the country needs,
she said.
“Someone told me yesterday,
‘
No matter how dark the night,
morning will come.
’
And I am
counting on that,
” Lawrence
said.
Allyn and Repair the World
Detroit say they will follow
the lead of Detroit Jews for
Justice (DJJ), since “they work
so closely in organizing and
activism, especially around
anti-racism.”
“We acknowledge that in
most our Jewish spaces, we see
a lot of white faces and hear
a lot of white voices, and that
is really not the time for that,”
Allyn said.
DJJ’
s founding executive
director, Rabbi Alana Alpert, is
planning education and action
opportunities for the commu-
nity. Alpert also asks the Jewish
community to support cam-
paigns and organizations, like
DJJ, during this time.
“The killing of black people
by police is an egregious exam-
ple of the systemic racism that
we are committed to fighting.
We condemn this horrific
violence and affirm that Black
Lives Matter,” Alpert told
the JN in a statement. “Were it
not for the pandemic and its
disproportionate impacts on
people of color and residents
of Detroit (itself a result of
structural racism), we would
be actively mobilizing our
supporters to demonstrate
following the leadership of our
trusted partners.”
Alpert said DJJ has been
approved for a grant from the
Jews of Color Field Building
Initiative to work with syna-
gogues on diversity, equity and
inclusion.
“The grant will also support
us to amplify the voices of Jews
of Color, who have been telling
us unequivocally that we in the
Jewish community must show
up for black Jews and for all
black people targeted by state
violence,” Alpert’
s statement
read.
The Detroit Free Press
reported that faith leaders from
varying backgrounds through-
out Metro Detroit have come
together to speak out against
Floyd’
s death and demand jus-
tice and peace. At Greater New
Mount Moriah Missionary
Baptist Church in Detroit on
May 31, rabbis, an imam and
Rev. Kenneth Flowers spoke
out against the racial injustice
and condemned Floyd’
s death.
During the live-
streamed mass, local news
outlets reported, Jewish lead-
ers told the predominately
African American congre-
gation that “on behalf of the
Jewish community of Detroit
… we are with you at this
time.”
Muslim faith leaders, Arab
American advocates with the
Arab American Civil Rights
League, the Dearborn mayor
and police chief also gathered
at the Dearborn Police Station
and criticized the injustice.
Bishop of the Episcopal
Diocese of Michigan, Rt. Rev.
Bonnie Perry, also acknowl-
edged Floyd’
s death during
mass and said, “We cannot be
filled with the power of the
Holy Spirit and crush the life
out of another.”
“We cannot be fi
lled with the
power of the Holy Spirit and
crush the life out of another.”
— RT. REV. BONNIE PERRY
JEWISH GROUPS RESPOND continued from page 18