IfNotNow Twin Cities Condemns Failure of Justice for Philando Castile
We urge every Jewish institution in our community to join us in unequivocally condemning this verdict.
On Friday, June 16, a jury found St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez not guilty in the murder of Philando Castile. This verdict is the most recent in many across the country that demonstrate our justice system’s apathy toward the inherent dignity of Black lives. IfNotNow Twin Cities unequivocally condemns this verdict, and we call upon the institutional Jewish community to stand with Black Lives Matter and other racial justice groups in the wake of this injustice.
We are outraged and saddened, and our hearts go out to Castile’s family and the families of all those who have been affected by police brutality and the injustice of the American legal system.
This verdict makes clear that the Twin Cities — despite being frequently hailed as bastions of progressivism — are neither welcoming nor safe for people of color. Shortly after the verdict was announced, Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, said, “I am so disappointed in the state of Minnesota. My son loved this state. He had one tattoo on his body and it was of the Twin Cites — the state of Minnesota with TC on it. My son loved this city and this city killed my son. And the murderer gets away.” Valerie Castile’s heartbreaking words show how our community fails Black people who live here. They should be heard by every Minnesotan. It is long past time that white people living in the Twin Cities wake up to the reality of what it means to be Black in our community.
As Jews, we are called to commit ourselves to tikkun olam, to repairing the world. We must stand up for Jews of color in our community and the people of color everywhere who are affected by police violence and institutional racism — and those of us who are white Jews have a special obligation to do so.
We at IfNotNow Twin Cities pledge to continue to lend our bodies, our voices, and our support to BLM and other movements in our community working to put an end to racist policing and other systems of violence.
While we applaud Jewish Community Action for their statement that “Philando Castile and his family have not received justice,” we are dismayed by others’ silence, and we urge every Jewish institution in our community to join us in unequivocally condemning this verdict and committing to stand up for racial justice.
