Time to Act: The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

Adobe’s Dana Rao outlines our support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and shares our continued commitment to advocate for all our communities.

Almost a year ago, we stood in shock and abhorrence as we watched the video of the senseless killing of George Floyd. While we should have been abhorred, we should not have been shocked, as the roots of these problems have been long present in our society. However, it took efforts like the Black Lives Matter movement to refocus worldwide attention on the reality of Black Americans’ experiences. At Adobe, it was a moment for us to reflect on who we are and how we could be better, for ourselves, our communities and our business.

Adobe’s mission is to empower people to change the world through digital experiences. To achieve this mission, we recognize it is insufficient to merely maximize our impact as a company within the conditions we face today — we must change the conditions we face to maximize our impact. Shock and abhorrence are not enough: We have to take action.

In June 2020, we launched our “Taking Action Initiative” to drive change at Adobe and in our larger communities, specifically for the Black community. While many reforms are needed internally at every company and institution, part of our responsibility is to advocate for government action on issues that matter most to the communities we seek to uplift and areas that specifically align with our mission.

Today, we urge the Senate to take action on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would increase investment in police training, establish practices to end racial profiling, and enable better data collection to improve oversight and accountability. As the trial of this week reminds us, this issue has not gone away. It is critical that the U.S. Senate take up this much-needed structural change, just as we urged the U.S. House to do the same in our June 10, 2020 letter. Passage of this bill is a crucial first step toward reshaping law enforcement in America to be better for everyone.

In order for Adobe to truly succeed, we must constantly evaluate the circumstances around us. We will go further in our capacity as a responsible digital citizen to empower, amplify and advocate for all communities. And we will commit to harnessing the best of Adobe — our people, platform, creativity and innovation — to continue to make lasting change inside and outside of our company.