An Open Letter from Mayor Joe Curtatone and Councilor Will Mbah on behalf of a unanimous resolution by the City Council                

It should go without saying that we’ve been through a lot in recent months. We are in the midst of a pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 people across our nation and robbed so many of friends and loved ones. We are also experiencing a nation rising up with appropriate fury at long-standing injustices after watching George Floyd killed beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

As a people we find ourselves in uncertain times, hurt by a contagion and grappling with the raw emotion of seeing racial injustice played out in such a brutal fashion – again. It is a lot to process, not just as a society, but on a personal level too. It can be hard to shake off the shock, carry the anger, and face the fears both crises evoke. It can be difficult to come to terms with your grief. It can be tempting to just shut off whatever feelings you might be having because it seems there is no way to process them.

Yet we’re all in our neighborhoods and in this city together. We’re all carrying the weight of what has transpired. In cases like that, what we generally do is set aside a day where we take a beat and have a shared moment. We do it for remembrance (Memorial Day) and the giving of thanks. Right now, what we need is a day where we can grieve for those who’ve been lost.

As it turns out, we have an underappreciated holiday coming up next week. June 14 is Flag Day. It celebrates the adoption of the American flag in 1777, which ultimately became a symbol for a nation of, by, and for the people. In good times or bad times, we the people are supposed to endure. No matter what this moment in history brings us, we share that bond. We can unite under our flag, not for a partisan cause or for war with another country, but for each other. We can reclaim our flag as a symbol of hope, welcome, comfort, and progress. We can reclaim this holiday as a renewal of our commitment to life, liberty and justice for all.

Right now, too many people have been lost. Too many people are hurting. We need to mark those losses, to share the solemnity of those deaths. When we grieve together, we lift the weight of that sadness off of any single one of us. We can all carry a portion of this load. In doing so, it enables all of us to take personal responsibility for building a just society.

So that’s what we’re proposing people do this Flag Day: The City Council has unanimously passed a resolution proposed by Councilor Mbah in favor of making this Sunday, June 14, a local day of reflection and remembrance and Mayor Curtatone is joining with them in putting out the call to the entire city. Take some time on a holiday you might have ignored in the past and give yourself the permission to be sad about the recent – and centuries-long – tragedies we’ve suffered in our nation. Even if we haven’t been touched directly, we can have compassion for and solidarity with those who have.

And, as we do that, we can appreciate how the flag is a symbol of our togetherness. We get through our trials as one nation. This would seem to be a perfect moment to remind ourselves of that unifying truth.