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Eastern Bank CEO Bob Rivers speaks at a 2019 event celebrating the bank’s social justice work. Photo by Marilyn Humphries | Courtesy of Eastern Bank
Two local bankers have expressed support for the Black community in response to last week’s death of George Floyd.
Eastern Bank shared a link through its Twitter account to an NAACP petition calling for justice for George Floyd. Floyd, who is Black, died Memorial Day after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes while arresting him. The petition also requests action by the Department of Justice relating to police departments and municipal governments that show patterns of racism toward people of color, as well as legislation “mandating a zero-tolerance approach in penalizing and/or prosecuting police officers who kill unarmed, non-violent, and non-resisting individuals in an arrest.”
“We have a legacy of advocating for what’s right and smart,” Eastern Bank Chair and CEO Bob Rivers said in the Twitter post. “Right now that means not staying silent, but standing with and for the Black community.”
Malia Lazu, Berkshire Bank’s executive vice president and chief experience and culture officer, has also spoken out on Twitter. The longtime activist is participating today in a Facebook panel hosted by DareHUMAN about forcing change during a time of racial unrest. And this week, Berkshire Bank’s Reevx Labs is hosting two panel discussions about the future of Black economy featuring figures like Rep. Ayanna Pressley and MSNBC host Joy Reid, the other about the Latinx economy featuring Rep. Joaqin Castro and entrepreneur Nathalie Molina Niño.
“In light of the continued racial injustices that have convulsed our country over the past few weeks, there is no better time to address the inequity faced by black and brown communities on a daily basis, which has been further exacerbated in the midst of this global pandemic,” Lazu said in a statement emailed to Banker & Tradesman.
In a tweet, Credit Union National Association President and CEO Jim Nussle called Floyd’s death “an unspeakable tragedy.”
“We are calling on the unified voice of the credit union movement to reject apathy and choose empathy as we rally against systemic racism directed toward the African American community,” he wrote. “@CUNA is committed to being a catalyst for change and advocates against social injustice.”
