Greetings,
In recent days we have learned that two more black men–Alton Silver and Philando Castile–were killed by police in Louisiana and Minnesota and that Thursday night-adding another senseless act of violence to these injustices–five police officers were murdered and seven others wounded in Dallas, Texas.
The injustice and violence seem overpowering. And yet, there are things we can do.
**We can gather this weekend in our communities of faith and share our fears, anger and sadness in the company of others who are also grieving.
** We can promote the voices of non-violent change: the Black Lives Matter Official Statement advocating for dignity, justice and respect offers such a voice. http://blacklivesmatter.com/
** We can advocate for common sense police reform http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision
** We can challenge Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana http://gov.louisiana.gov/ and other politicians who seek to make assaulting a police officer a hate crime. As an organization that works with vulnerable groups ICNY knows the importance of hate crime legislation as a critical protection for religious, racial, and other minorities. Arjun Sethi’s essay for CNN explains further. http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/06/opinions/baton-rouge-blue-lives-matter-law-arjun-sethi/index.html
Please send us your thoughts and ideas about how your community of faith is addressing racial injustice and violence perpetrated across our country.
Peace and blessings,
The Rev. Chloe Breyer
ICNY executive director
(212) 870-3532
cbreyer@interfaithcenter.org
