City Of Greensboro Employees Hold Unity Walk And Moment Of Silence

Press release from the City of Greensboro:

June 9, 2020

This afternoon, about 300 employees of the City of Greensboro joined City Manager David Parrish on a unity walk downtown and observed an 8-minute and 46-second moment of silence in honor of the life of George Floyd, who will be laid to rest today.

The walk was spurred by a citywide staff Zoom meeting last week, where employees candidly discussed racial inequities. The walk and moment of silence evolved from that Zoom session as employees wanted to celebrate the diversity of the organization and support racial justice.

The City’s Human Relations Department, Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Community Relations – the divisions that are responsible for handling concerns residents raised about disparate treatment based on race – issued the following statement:

In the wake of the tragic, illogical, and irreparable circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN on May 25, 2020, Greensboro residents have reflected the outcry of our nation. In keeping with the city’s reputation for responding to injustice, residents have been engaging in peaceful protests large and small to assert their resistance to not only unmerited violence at the hands of law enforcement, but refusal to stand for any prejudice against any members of the Greater Greensboro community.

It is with solid conviction and genuine commitment that the Human Relations Department, Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Office of Community Relations, affirm our willingness to consistently address the needs of our city in order to create a safe, inclusive, diverse, and unbiased Greensboro in which all residents and visitors can thrive.

The leadership of these entities of City government, along with its leadership, recognize our community is hurting because of a history of discrimination that continues in present day. During this time, community members are questioning who can be trusted to do what is right and fair. Our hope is to continue doing the work of asking the voices of the community the right questions, and seek real solutions in order to restore trust and eliminate barriers.

We hold dear the responsibility of working to eradicate discrimination in our respective areas of work whether it be external to the residents of the city, or internal in order to create a fair and safe place for our City employees. We take seriously the commitment to do the work of eliminating discriminatory practices.

We affirm our action-based commitment to the work of equity and inclusion will be intensified. Whether that be increasing our support of Council and other City-appointed volunteer bodies to serve as liaisons to gather information, or engaging in policy review and research in order address disparity, we will stay the course. We will do our very best to continuously report to City Leadership the systemic challenges that keep residents at the margin, but also present community-driven solutions that we believe will intercept prejudices for a more inclusive Greensboro.

We will collaborate to develop a series of opportunities to hear the voices of our city, examine systemic practices of discrimination, and generate solutions beyond the status quo. In advance, we invite the community to bring questions about policies, processes, and procedures that create barriers.

Our departments and offices understand the critical nature of our work, and that time is of the essence. We are confident the City of Greensboro, as an organization, is committed to working together to uncover and address challenges in the name of creating a community where every resident can flourish.

This is our commitment to the residents of Greensboro and our nation.

This press release was produced by the City of Greensboro. The views expressed here are the author’s own.