Wilmington City Council Unites to Address Racial Disparities Council is Dedicated to Take Immediate Action to Put Forth Policy Changes in the City of Wilmington

WILMINGTON – Today, Wilmington City Council announced that they are immediately taking action to address racial disparities in the community and to address the requests of community leaders.

“The community, especially our youth,  has made their voices heard through peacefully protesting injustice.  We can not ignore them.  We will not ignore them,” said Council President Hanifa Shabazz.  “We are one city, and it takes two levels of government to make things happen,today the Mayor and I committed to collaborating on change and I stand united with my colleagues in City Council to make sure that we take immediate actions such as many of the policy changes listed on 8 Can’t Wait including reviewing policing policies and procedures and adopting best practices in city government.”

“As many in our community are embarking on a peaceful march this evening, I am praying that our City and our citizens are protected. I stand for a message of unity and justice for every resident of Wilmington and will continue working to do my part to ensure that every Wilmington resident, no matter the race or ethnicity, experiences fairness and justice,” said Public Safety Committee Chair Loretta Walsh.

“Time for talk is over. It’s time for action in Delaware. The community wants change, not just watered down solutions, tweaks here and there, and half-baked crumbs that will not even begin to dismantle the systemic racism that exists today in society. President Shabazz, my colleagues and I stand united in taking action and will not be deterred by special interest groups or those who would rather us keep the status quo,”  said Public Safety Committee Vice Chair Councilman Chris Johnson.

Collectively, the 13 members of Wilmington City Council issued the following statement:

We stand united!
We stand united in our commitment to the community by hearing your voices and listening to your suggestions for a better Wilmington.

We stand united.
We stand united in solidarity with the thousands of peaceful protesters across this country and the world who are crying out in anger, frustration and in grief.  We stand united in the pursuit of justice.

We stand united.
We stand united with the families of Jeremy” Bam Bam” McDole, George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Botham Jean, Philando Castille, Tamir Rice and the many others who have lost their lives senselessly.

We stand united.
We stand united to address systemic racism & injustices, health disparities, educational inequities, lack of opportunity, poverty and ongoing, persistent wealth gaps in American society!

We stand united.
We stand united ready to roll up our sleeves and work in solidarity with the community to build sustainable solutions for generations now and the future! This is the time to make certain your children and their children never have to address these problems and deep divides again!

We stand united.
We stand united in our commitment to immediately develop and enact meaningful policy changes such as publishing the police department’s policy and procedures manual, deploying more neighborhood cameras and officer worn cameras, promoting cultural sensitivity training that helps people respect their own values while adapting to and respecting the values of other cultures they interact with, establishing a Citizen’s Oversight Board, taking a deeper dive into making community policing more intentional for our communities and adopting policy solutions listed on 8 Can’t Wait.

We, the legislative branch of city government hear and agree that there is a need to amend a system that perpetuates injustice. The stain of racism on this country has ruined the fabric of diversity that blankets the population. Hearing the local and nationwide cry, it is our duty to apply our full political will behind being the change needed to heal and continue moving humanity forward.  We stand united to do just this.

We stand united.
We stand united ready to work and serve together side by side with our citizens of our City. We must stand hand in hand united!