Ferndale Passes National Day of Racial Healing Proclamation
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 16, 2019)
Ferndale, MI – Ferndale City Council voted Monday to pass a proclamation for National Day of Racial Healing.
On Jan. 22 – the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day – communities like Ferndale honor “our common humanity and taking collective action towards a more just and equitable world.”
The effort was created by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Councilperson Melanie Piana learned of it through her role as Michigan Municipal League President. “I found this fairly appropriate as over the holidays our community had been fliered with material we do not think is appropriate in our community,” she said. “I’m very honored this community will be one of the first to pass it.”
The Mayoral Proclamation states:
We have all witnessed racial divisiveness rising in America’s urban, rural, suburban, and tribal communities today that threatens the very core of this great country’s unified front; and
Just like those who came before us, it is our duty to protect the children of this country and maintain communities in which they may all be given the opportunity to succeed; and
We understand and recognize that there is a racial divide in our country and we must all work earnestly to heal the wounds created by racial, ethnic and religious bias and build an equitable and just society so that all children can thrive; and
Children have the right to be provided every opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in nurturing environments that don’t violate their safety, dignity, and humanity; and
Every single person has the capability to make a simple change within him or herself that can have a profound effect on an entire society; and
If we all dedicate ourselves to the principles of truth, racial healing and transformation, we can all bring about the necessary changes in thinking and behavior that will propel this great country forward as a unified force where racial biases will become a thing of the past; and
Racial healing is a vital and crucial commitment to the education, social, mental and over all well-being of all our children; and
The City of Ferndale, in conjunction with others throughout the United States of America, acknowledges January 22, 2019 as the “National Day of Racial Healing,” and urges all citizens to promote racial healing and transformation in the ways that are best suited for them individually, as a means to working together to ensure the best quality of life for every child.”
The Ferndale Inclusion Network, an outreach effort by Citizens for Fair Ferndale, is also hosting a discussion on decoding racially coded language.
“Not in my (Ferndale) Backyard” will look at how discussions in housing, schools, and neighborhoods can have racial undertones.
The group hosts quarterly discussion meetings, with the most recent titled “Think before You Dial – A Conversation on Living While Black.” Read about the discussion HERE.