There are no sidelines from which to watch. I want you to know that we at JVP are bringing all we can in our commitment to defend Black lives in this historic time.
Black people are rising up in an incredible wave of resistance all over the U.S., responding to 400 years of brutal, deadly oppression. Police are responding with an eruption of violent repression all across the U.S. All organizations that care about justice have a responsibility to join this fight, and we are no exception.
We are answering the call from our members, allies, and hearts to
defend Black lives and
defund the police who are killing Black people. Black and Palestinian leaders – from Dr. King to Dr. Angela Y. Davis to Palestinian scholar Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi – remind us that justice is indivisible, and that all fights for freedom are intertwined at their roots. Black leaders are risking their lives to uproot the injustice at the heart of the U.S. and their work will transcend borders.
I firmly believe that it strengthens every bit of our organizing to show up in solidarity right now.
(Art by Wendy Elisheva Somerson, JVP Seattle chapter co-founder)
JVP members are doing the work, from Black members who are leading on the ground, to white members doing powerful anti-racist work in their own communities, to our growing numbers of Jews of Color who are marching and speaking out in solidarity. In Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philly, Oakland, New York, and all across the country, our members are joining protests and vigils, forming support teams, and taking direct action. We will continue to do this all week, and as the struggle for justice continues.
Show up with us in the ways you can right now: Put on your mask and go to a protest, dig deep to donate to frontline Black-led organizations, join in the calls to #DefundPolice echoing across our cities.
All of us come to this work from different identities, perspectives, and histories. I take my own inspiration from my Ashkenazi ancestors, and the Bundist tradition of
doikayt, or hereness. I see my safety and the safety of all of us as forged through our deep connections with each other, and with the communities that we are in.
Join me in being here, and in taking part in the transformation that this country has needed from the start.
