To The Community

Jun. 24, 2020: The Bronxville Unity Walk was held this past Saturday to support the messages of justice and equity that are part of the Black Lives Matter movement.  

The senseless death of George Floyd, and the social unrest that followed it, highlights the structural racism that plagues our country. The brutal deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others have forced us to deeply question our country's notions of racial progress and equity. Being silent is being part of the problem, and this weekend we spoke out.  

A group of families came together two weeks ago to discuss how to express our support for Black Lives Matter. Students from Bronxville High School led the way weeks earlier by organizing a number of rallies at Town Hall.  

The decision was made to organize the walk to bring together our residents, our friends and families, our school, our churches, and our local government to express unequivocally that we need to create a more just society where Black people can live without fear of racism and can trust the government will protect them equally under the law.

Meetings were held with various village and county administrators to align on the logistics, and an effort was made to notify all parties of interest to be as inclusive as possible. Mayor Marvin and Chief Satriale were instrumental in finalizing the activities. A small number of speakers were selected to reflect on this moment in time, and Heidi Kapoor, Matt Behrens, Derek Owen, Tiffani Chambers, Roy Montesano, Annabell Krause, Jonathan Alvarez, Ken Jenkins, and Jonathan Beer achieved just that. 

Systemic racism is a problem that needs to be addressed in Bronxville, as in most other communities in our country. We don't have the answers, and we may not know the questions, but a community group is being formed to begin a discussion around change. The next step requires developing a plan of action for driving measurable, systemic changes against racism in the future. If you are interested in being part of the discussion, please visit BronxvilleUnity.org to join.

Your neighbors,

The Bates, Beers, Behrens, Bradys, Devitts, Fultons, Gemes, Habners, Halleys, Kapoors, Peros, and Randalls

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