One of the things I’ve always said about the car business is that we’re a big family. Our stores employ more than a million people across America, across thousands of local communities.

The wonderful result of this geographic diversity is an organic cultural diversity among dealership employees. Folks who work for dealerships look like their communities, because we reflect the communities where we live, work and call home. Whatever race, color, creed you are, if you come to a dealership and work hard, you can find opportunities for advancement and make a nice living for your family. The rich tapestry of people we employ demonstrates our commitment to diversity and inclusion. It makes us stronger.

Because we’re like a big extended family, we share in each other’s joy and pain. We share joy at graduations, new babies, weddings, and retirement send-offs. We share pain through fires, floods, and other tragedies. Through all this, we work hard to care for each other.

The last few weeks have been far too painful for too many Americans. The events in Georgia, Minneapolis, Kentucky and elsewhere have brought deep pain to communities across our country, especially the African American community.

It’s the year 2020, and yet we know these are not isolated events. We can no longer be blind to that fact. The reality is that racism and injustice are real, they are pervasive, and we absolutely must do more to root them out.

Racism and discrimination have no place in the car business, or America. We must root them out together. Everyone deserves to be treated respectfully and fairly. Everyone deserves justice, and it pains us to see injustice. When anyone in our family hurts we all hurt, and we are hurting with you.

I don’t claim to have all the answers. But I do believe that if we all lean in, and listen to each other sincerely, with grace and an open heart, we can understand each other better, stand up for each other better, and make our communities, country and world a better and more just place.

NADA is committed to this and believe that we are all responsible when it comes to making change. We hope that you and your families are safe. And we are deeply committed to supporting all NADA members and dealership employees, now more than ever.