BLACK LIVES MATTER

We stand against racism and injustice. A message from Peter Finn.

The world has become a disturbing place during the past months.

First, we have the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed many people, and has caused widespread unemployment. People have lost loved ones, and struggle to feed their families.

Now once again, a Black man has been killed by a police officer in the US, this despite the fact that the man was unarmed, handcuffed and was saying he could not breathe as the officer knelt on his neck. The video footage that has transfixed us all bears witness to this appalling event. It is intolerable. No life should be at risk because of the color of one's skin, and there has been incident after incident recently violating this basic principle.

It is hard to know what to say during such trying times. At first I was not sure that it was appropriate for me to speak out on the death of George Floyd or on the racism that continues to poison our world. But as I have witnessed the events of the last few days, it has become clear that I need to share my thoughts with you, my colleagues. Initially, I was going to send this only to our US staff, but then decided to share it worldwide.

One of our core values is a commitment to diversity and inclusion. This is important to us at Finn Partners. It is the right thing to do to treat everyone equally. It is the right thing to do to actively overcome discrimination, make a concerted effort to negate its effects and support those who have suffered its impact.

We all need to understand the anxiety and frustration being experienced by people of color on our staff, in our communities, and of course throughout the country and the world. Our hearts and thoughts need to be with them. For those of us who look to a better future, let us work toward more understanding among all people. Let us work to ensure that all people in America and around the world will be treated with dignity and as equals. Finally, when the elections come around later this year in the US, and elsewhere around the world, be sure to vote. We need our elected officials to focus on healing the divide, and to advocate for the inherent equality and natural rights for all people as well as equal protection under the law. We are all created equal and should be treated equally by our government and by everyone whose job it is to defend our citizens.

Hopefully we can all contribute to the progress that is so sorely needed.

–Peter