Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert, right, kneels with demonstrators during a Black Lives Matter rally on June 2.
Acknowledgement, empathy, dignity, and action. That is what so many in minority communities are fighting for every time they protest, share their stories, and chant in our streets seeking the end to systemic racism in all its forms. As a community, we stand beside you in combating systemic racism and spreading awareness, creating a better world for us all to live in.
One small piece of building that better tomorrow could be an art project or mural that acts as a lasting acknowledgement of the “Black Lives Matter” slogan in our community.
Acknowledgement of any issue or concern is always the first step in bridging the divide. If you cannot first acknowledge that there is a problem, you cannot move toward fixing the issue. So, we stand on the precipice of that crucial first step. Residents and community members have been protesting and speaking out asking for open and frank acknowledgement that the black community continues to face barriers to full equality.
This request does not come at the cost of any other community group. Our acknowledgement of their struggle and their continued fight toward equity and equality does not take away the importance of any other group of people. It simply highlights that we see their pain. That we empathize with their struggle and that we are here to help in whatever way we can.
The question we should be asking ourselves is not should we highlight and acknowledge the slogan “Black Lives Matter,” rather we should be asking where, and in what capacity, should the mural/slogan be placed to highlight Lansdale’s role in helping us move forward.
As someone who has worked in advertising, branding, and marketing for much of my adult life, usually, you want your brand to amass as many impressions — eyeballs — as humanly possible to leave a lasting mark. I would not classify the section of the Liberty Bell Trail by Borough Hall as a particularly high volume, or visible, area. Ideally, this message would be a banner of some kind or mural at one of our highly visible corners which would require the partnership of a building owner/private entity that organizers can work with. This approach would help our downtown area gain more character while also providing a visible space for the slogan to be seen clearly by anyone enjoying our downtown area.
This is not to say that we should not consider the Liberty Bell Trail for this mural. However, there are other places that might be more impactful for the goal of this project. If the organizers are dedicated to the Liberty Bell Trail for particular reason — perhaps because of the name/history — we would need to discuss the maintenance and all the specifications that would go into the mural (types of paint, size, re-painting schedule, design, etc) as we would with any other public project in our borough.
It is my hope that we will be able to see this project through to fruition and that a public acknowledgement of racial disparity will help move us down the path of developing solutions to these systemic issues — no matter where it might be placed.
To be clear, we do need to move beyond acknowledgment soon. It is time to act and begin changing parts of our community that might have inherent bias and can be improved for all of us. However, to do that we need more involvement at the governmental level. Come meet with local elected officials. Share your ideas and thoughts on how we can improve the community.
We cannot make the change you want to see without you and your voice will be critical in seeing that we move from acknowledgement of the challenge to building a better Lansdale for all of us.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: Managing The Financial Emergency
Mayoral Musings: Welcome To Green Phase
Mayoral Musings: Reimagining The Lansdale Borough Police Department
Mayoral Musings: All Lives Can’t Matter Until Black Lives Matter
Mayoral Musings: Improving Lansdale Police Department Through Body Cameras
