Brian Dodge, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd urging Congress to honor his life by passing bipartisan criminal justice reforms:
“Today marks one-year since the horrifying killing of George Floyd an event that shocked the world and forced us to confront the prevalence of racial inequities in America.
“Eradicating racial injustice requires us all to change. Retailers have stepped up and are doing the necessary work to address racial bias. Over the past year, retailers have redoubled their efforts to pursue meaningful change inside their organizations and more broadly in the communities that they serve.
“As the nation remembers George Floyd this week, leading retailers urge lawmakers to take bipartisan action that gets at the roots of racial injustice in our criminal justice system and the horrific incidents that have left no doubt that change is needed.
“Addressing racial injustice in our criminal justice system is a national imperative. As a society we cannot rest until trust between law enforcement and all communities has been restored. Leading retailers stand ready to support change and to work with lawmakers to achieve it.”
