The Board of The Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought Condemn the Murder of People of Color

            June 4, 2020

For Immediate Release

The killings must stop. We, the Board of the Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought condemn the murder of people of color.

We have seen the impacts of white supremacy’s pervasiveness in law enforcement across the country for centuries and we, as a nation, must come together to dismantle the system of oppression.

Every person has the right to live, and we condemn the recent police killings of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Freddie Gray, Rekia Boyd, and Walter Scott. Following the tragic killing of Ahmaud Arbery by a vigilante and former police officer, the impact of these murders reaches across the country, and we must have accountability.

It is imperative that local police departments and district attorneys investigate, arrest and prosecute officers who violate the rights of the people who live in the communities they are charged to serve. Equally important, law enforcement must stop responding to peaceful protest of police killings with tear gas and rubber bullets, as we witnessed over the last few nights. This violence being waged by the police against peaceful protesters is a gross abuse of human rights, and government officials should move quickly to stop them now.

We stand with millions of people across the country who are rightfully outraged by the killings, and the lack of action to protect the right to protest.

Condemnation and outrage aren’t enough. We, as a nation, must come together to push for systemic change — real change that strikes at the core of structural racism by transforming our policing systems. This transformation must include transparent investigations into police killings and acts of brutality; reforms in state laws on the use of force by police; and nationwide changes in law enforcement hiring practices to expose implicit bias and meaningfully diversify staff with more women and people of color.

We urge law enforcement and governments to identify the attitudes and biases that invite acts of violence against Black people and other communities of color, white supremacy among them. For too long, we have seen police officers, local prosecutors, judges and juries perpetuate violence against Black people through a culture of white supremacy and repeated failure to hold law enforcement officers responsible.

As we focus on the issue of police violence and killing, we acknowledge that the majority of those in the police force are people who genuinely care about the people they serve. We remember and commend the many brave police who are not violent, who work with the community, who dedicate their lives to serve everyone regardless of color or ethnicity.

We must also fight to end the many other ways violence is visited on marginalized communities.Black people face economic violence. In the wealthiest nation on earth, when 40 million Americans live in poverty, incredibly, one out of three African-American children live below the poverty line and too many are trapped in a school-to-prison pipeline.

That economic violence goes further. While tens of millions are working hard every day, with little to show for their labor, over half of African-American workers in this country earn less than $15 an hour. Starvation wages are a form of violence and African-Americans and other communities of color bear the brunt of this plague.

Speaking of plagues, the current COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged Black and Brown communities at far higher rates than white communities both in terms of infection and death. This is on top of the fact that Black and Latino people disproportionately bear the violence of a cruel and dysfunctional health care system that results in the death of some 60,000 Americans each year, because they cannot afford the health care they need.

It is the violence of homelessness where, today, in the midst of the pandemic, millions worry about being forced out of their apartments or homes and joining the 500,000 Americans who are already homeless.

Sadly, these are just some examples because this violence can be seen everywhere in the lives of Black people. So, as we watch Americans all over the country taking to the streets to peacefully protest this violence we must keep in mind the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:

 “We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.”

And speaking of non-violence, we must say that we are deeply saddened as we witness the destruction of stores in neighborhoods who depend upon these shops for their survival. It is the people in those lower-income communities who will be forced to live without access to groceries and other necessities long after the fires are extinguished and the television crews have packed up and gone home. We want to commend those in the community who have courageously tried to keep that destruction from taking place. We condemn those who destroy and loot stores in neighborhoods who depend upon these shops for their survival.

In this enormously difficult moment in American history, now is the time to honor George Floyd, and to do everything possible to make sure that his death was not in vain. Now is the time for us to come together, in a non-violent way, to demand justice in America in all respects. Racial Justice. Economic Justice. Social Justice. Environmental Justice.

Our deepest condolences to George Floyd’s family and the other families. We stand in solidarity with you.

Sincerely,

The Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought Board of Trustees

Dr. Rao H. Andavolu (Hindu)

Sathya  Andavolu (Hindu)

Kristine Larson Binaco (Unitarian Universalist)

Dr. John Calvin Chatlos (Ethical Culture / Humanist)

The Rev. Elizabeth B. Congdon (American Baptist)

Lynn Dash (Unitarian Universalist)

Dr. Mary Carol Day (Unitarian Universalist)

Dr. Joseph T. Donahue (Unitarian Universalist)

Balvinder Kaur Gill, Esq. (Sikh)

Dr. Aridaman (Ari) Jain (Jain)

Dr. Sarbmeet Singh Kanwal (Sikh)

Jennifer A. Lieberman, LSW (Jewish)

Dr. Stevi Lischin (Contemplative Activist)

Dr. Esmat Mahmoud (Muslim)

Mr. George Moutis (Christian/Greek Orthodox)

Dr. Madhav Phadke (Hindu)

Joe Ritacco (Christian/ Presbyterian)

Dr. Robert C. Smith (Buddhist)
Georgette L. Thomas (African Methodist Episcopalian)

Rev. Dianne Watson-Kendall (Christian/Baptist)

Ms. Patty Whyte (Baha’i)