Somerville Mayor Explains Why City Hung Up 'Black Lives Matter' Banner

A banner that reads “Black Lives Matter” now hangs from the front porch of Somerville City Hall. Mayor Joesph Curtatone instructed city officials to hang the banner on Wednesday.

Curtatone is not exactly sure when the banner will come down. It may hang for a long time.

His decision to hang the banner at this point in time sparked questioning across the city. Many wondered his reasoning behind hanging the banner.

Curtatone, in an open post on commonwealthmagazine.com, explained that eradicating racism has to start somewhere.

“We put it up this week. We shouldn’t have to. We shouldn’t have to put a banner up that says we are against police violence based on discrimination involving black people,” Curtatone wrote. “It shouldn’t be newsworthy when a government body says that it believes that all of our institutions should treat all people the same, regardless of the color of their skin. These aren’t ideas that should have to be proclaimed.”

Institutional discrimination openly exists throughout the United States, the facts are backed by statistics and visual evidence. Curtatone feels it’s about time everyone bands together and faces the issue head on.

“We put the banner up not to proclaim anything about Somerville or ourselves, but because we must stand in solidarity with the movement, acknowledge that painful reality, and work to change it,” Curtatone wrote.

Curtatone added, “We know that “all lives matter,” but is it is black Americans who disproportionately are killed by those we entrust with upholding the law. It is black Americans who are disproportionately stopped, arrested, jailed and sentenced to longer prison terms.”

According to Curtatone, the sign in no way is an indictment on the action of Somerville’s Police Department. He says Somerville chief of police, David Fallon, advocates for “fair, equal and community focused policing.”

Somerville is in the process of instituting solutions by focusing on de-escalation training, true community policing, and planning for new training that will allow recognition of internalized prejudices.

Curtatone says the banner is statement, but also a question regarding what Somerville can do to fix its part of the system.

The Cambridge-based Black Lives Matter organization worked alongside Curtatone to help create the banner. Curtatone say Somerville is looking forward to working closely with the group moving into the future.

“This goal is no doubt difficult, but it is achievable through collective action. Eradicating racism from society may seem like an insurmountable task, but we need to start somewhere, and we must be able to work together to reshape our political and social institutions and cure them of this systemic problem,” Curtatone concluded.