But that’s just the start!
Words are not enough. We at Empire Loan stand firmly and proudly behind the peaceful protesters throughout this country and the entire world. We hope that this moment is, finally, the last straw in the over 400-year history of racial discrimination. That history, starting before the Declaration of Independence but continuing up to the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Brown v Board of Ed, the assassinations of Abraham, Malcolm, and Martin, not to mention the thousands of lynchings and church burnings… only just begins to scratch the surface of the outright repression of our Black Brothers and Sisters. But words are no longer enough.
The murder of George Floyd is the fruit borne of toxic seeds planted on the shores of our country in Jamestown in 1619, when the first enslaved men and woman arrived on this continent. (From Ben and Jerry’s statement)
We call on our elected officials to enact legislation prohibiting choke holds. We call on all local jurisdictions to formally prohibit police from turning off their body cams while engaged in any police duty. We call on the state legislatures of Massachusetts and Rhode Island to enact laws that forever change the way police departments investigate charges of police wrong-doing. We call for increased funding for public schools, public housing and drug treatment access even if that means increasing state income taxes or sales taxes. We call for total reform of the unfair bail system which currently criminalizes poverty.
We recognize that all these demands are just the beginning because words have never been enough! Now is the time to make meaningful changes. Since its inception, The Empire Loan Charitable Foundation has contributed nearly three quarters of a million dollars and will continue to advocate for, and support, the community-based non-profits working hard to make the dream of a Color Blind America a reality.
Until that day comes, we assure you that we will not let the murder of George Floyd become just another infuriating incident in the long history of racial injustice.
