250 Mayors sign ‘Compact’ to promote tolerance, inclusion
Clarksville, TN – Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan has joined with more than 250 mayors from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Anti-Defamation League on Friday to launch an initiative to fight discrimination and injustice and promote tolerance and inclusion.
The Mayors Compact to Combat Hate, Extremism and Bigotry calls for mayors to “use the bully pulpit to speak out against racism, extremism, xenophobia, white supremacy and all forms of bigotry.”
It also calls for fully resourced law enforcement, civil rights investigations of domestic terrorism and hate crimes, and investment in training to promote inclusion and build trust across communities.
The compact was shaped as a response to the violence that claimed three lives in Charlottesville, VA, last week, where white supremacists clashed with counter protesters over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
“There is no place in our country, and certainly not in Clarksville, Tennessee, for bigotry, hatred or violence,” Mayor McMillan said Friday. “Yet the ugliness that unfolded in Charlottesville serves as a troubling reminder that we still do have problems with racism, anti-Semitism and other disturbing forms of intolerance.”
McMillan said the Compact would serve as a good blueprint to help guide Clarksville and cities across America through the challenges ignited by the events in Charlottesville.
“I’m proud to join with fellow Mayors and commit to the principles expressed in the Mayors Compact and to put them into action,” McMillan said. “Mayors and their cities must be beacons for inclusion, tolerance, and respect for all. In Clarksville, we must stand together – with different races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, nationalities, and political persuasions – and find ways to move forward despite challenges and division.”
McMillan also participated in a USCM leadership conference call Friday to discuss the situation in cities after Charlottesville and to help Mayors and their police departments prepare for the possible spread of similar conflicts.
The ADL and USCM initiative is centered on 10 principles that include rejecting extremism, white supremacy and all forms of bigotry; denouncing all acts of hate wherever they occur; and ensuring public safety while protecting free speech and other basic constitutional rights.
The full text of the compact is available online at www.mayorscompact.org
