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Rep. Brenda Lawrence asks the
Jews in the D jews and racial justice
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Rep. Brenda Lawrence asks the Jewish community to stand in solidarity with the black community.
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
Brenda Lawrence
The Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations released a joint statement on June 2 condemning the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, calling his death “nothing less than a modern-day lynching.” The caucus also called for an end to systemic racism and demanding justice.
U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence (D), who represents Michigan’s 14th district, is one of the co-chairs of the caucus. Lawrence believes that now is the time for the caucus to spring into action and calls on the black and Jewish communities to continue to come together like they have in the past.
“We’re going to have legislation and laws that will address hate crimes and civil rights for everyone,” Lawrence told the JN. “This is an opportunity for us to work together. We must become very clear in our government and in our policies to publicly have zero tolerance for people who commit hate crimes, for people who discriminate and for people who are racist and anti-Semitic.”
In the next few weeks, the caucus is planning a national town hall event to be aired on PBS. They are still working on the logistics for the town hall so they can include a variety of voices.
The caucus, started in the fall of 2019, brings together bipartisan leadership to raise awareness of the needs of the communities, as well as to initiate measures to combat hate and stereotypes. As the representative for a district that includes Floyd’s murder takes place, the investigation should not be conducted by its own police force. Instead, she said, it should be handed over to the FBI for investigation.
large parts of Southfield, West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills, as well as Pontiac and much of Detroit, Lawrence has long had to balance the needs of her black and Jewish constituents.
Lawrence said the caucus is putting a package of legislature together. One policy she wants to see is that when a crime like courses never come back into play.
— BRENDA LAWRENCE
Lawrence would like to see more changes in the training, education and hiring of police officers. Many cities, Lawrence said, require rookies to take diversity training courses, but once officers are sworn in, the
“We all have our own personal biases and life experience that allow us to have certain feelings,” Lawrence said. “But being a police officer, we must find a way to train, monitor, hold accountable and remove those police officers who are not fulfilling their duties.”
LAWRENCE STANDS WITH PROTESTERS
While protests are happening throughout the country in response to the police killing of Floyd, Lawrence advocates for people to stand up, use their voices and stand in solidarity with the black community. She also asks for the Jewish community to continue to lend their undeniable support.
“The civil rights we have gained in this country were because of the Jewish community stepping up legally, stepping up by protesting and stepping up in financial support for groups,” Lawrence said. “What we need now is the Jewish community to stand with us. The Jewish community to me are my brothers and sisters. I want them to be visible.”
Lawrence understands this fight is the same fight generations have been combatting for years, similar to how the Jewish community continues to battle anti-Semitism, white supremacy and hate crimes.
“When are we going to create an environment that shows this is unacceptable?” Lawrence said. “Someone told me, ‘You
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 process 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 hunting 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.”
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 community. Alpert also asks the Jewish community to support campaigns and organizations, like DJJ, during this time.
“The killing of black people by police is an egregious example of the systemic racism that we are committed to fighting. We condemn this horrific violence and affirm that Black
JEWISH GROUPS RESPOND continued from page 18
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 synagogues 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.
— RT. REV. BONNIE PERRY
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 BlackJewish 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 dialogue to synagogues and town
The Detroit Free Press reported that faith leaders from varying backgrounds throughout Metro Detroit have come together to speak out against Floyd’s death and demand justice and peace. At Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit on May 31, rabbis, an imam and halls, but what about that intimate setting in someone’s home talking about what is happening, 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 throughout 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.
Rev. Kenneth Flowers spoke out against the racial injustice and condemned Floyd’s death.
During the livestreamed mass, local news outlets reported, Jewish leaders told the predominately African American congregation 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 acknowledged 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.”
