Dear Community,

The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City joins other Jewish communities across the nation in expressing our grief and outrage over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the circumstances surrounding his death. We support all those who peacefully raise their voices in protest.

This tragedy and the protests that have followed remind us yet again that we still have a long way to go in our work toward a just society for all.

As an organization and a community, we will continue to speak out against violent acts of racism and hatred, and against the pattern of injustice suffered by the Black community across generations. We encourage our community to differentiate between the police officers involved in the death of George Floyd and the law-abiding officers who protect our Jewish schools, institutions and congregations—and the wider community—against hate and threats every day.

Now is the time for our community to re-emphasize conversation about how we can end systemic racism, injustice, hatred and bigotry, so we can all rise together for the good of future generations.

Let’s make our community a better place for everyone, together.

Michael Abrams                       Dr. Helene Lotman
Board Chair                              President and CEO