The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor in 2020 forced everyone in the country to examine racism and our nation’s failed attempts to eradicate it.  ADL was no exception.

In the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, Southwest Regional Director Mark Toubin published an editorial in the Jewish Herald-Voice and represented ADL at his funeral. Board Chair Nicole Nathan Gibson wrote a letter to the region and Yolanda Smith, Houston’s NAACP Director, appeared on a special webinar. Mark and Nicole spoke at the One Family, One Future Rally and a webinar was held on the Disparate Impact of COVID-19. New partnerships were formed, and existing ones enhanced, with allies in the fight for racial equity, particularly with the NAACP on voting rights and the young leaders of the Houston Area Urban League.

Our work on voting rights and #StopHateForProfit were and continue to be part of our response to the effort to end systemic racism in our country. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with other civil rights organizations to help ensure, with haste, the success of this movement.