The City of Olympia reaffirmed its commitment to equity last week with three proclamations to a packed city council chambers recognizing several national days of observance.
The first proclamation issued by the Olympia City Council during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13, recognized Monday, Jan. 19, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The second recognized the following day, Tuesday, Jan. 20, as National Day of Racial Healing, and the third recognized Thursday, Jan. 22, as Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day.
“It’s a bit of an equity night here for the Olympia City Council,” Mayor Dontae Payne said after each proclamation was read. “I’m sure we get accused of always being about equity, and frankly, I’m fine with that. We need to let each other know how important it is that we stand together.”
Remarking on the city council chambers being filled with community members and equity advocates, Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh said “We don’t always have a packed council chambers. It’s a big deal, and you’re taking your time to spend a little bit with us and amplify these messages.”
Said Council Member Paul Berendt, “Things do change. They can change for the better if we are of good hearts and will, but racial justice and justice for all people is something that we have to constantly be working on and never, ever let up on.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The first proclamation recognized the lasting legacy left by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “urges the community to pay tribute to the life and works of Dr. King through participation and acts of service to the community on this day and throughout the year.”
Local civil rights leaders Dr. Thelma Jackson and Stephanie Cholmondeley thanked the Olympia City Council for its proclamation, remarking on the importance of recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day amidst ongoing efforts from the current administration to backtrack on civil rights.
“Dr. King believed democracy required protection. What we witness today is democracy being quietly undone,” Cholmondeley said, citing the removal of Black history from schools, elimination of affirmative action programs, and rampant poverty that disproportionally affects Black communities.
“If Dr. King were alive today, he would not ask us to celebrate him. He would ask us to tell the truth. He would ask us why the laws he marched for are being dismantled, why the history he bled for is being erased, why the debt he named remains unpaid. And he would remind us, justice delayed is not passive. It is active harm,” Cholmondeley said.
National Day of Racial Healing
The second proclamation issued by the Olympia City Council last week recognized Tuesday, Jan. 20 as National Day of Racial Healing in Olympia for the third time in the city’s history.
First launched in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Day of Racial Healing is an annual observance on the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. Day aiming to build racial equity through healing and action.
To mark the occasion, the City of Olympia partnered with the South Sound YMCA, the Thurston County chapter of the NAACP, Lexi Alberts Consulting and the Timberland Library for a community conversation on racial healing from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, at The Olympia Center.
The event included light refreshments, activities and speakers, and a welcome by Payne.
The Timberland Library recommended picture books for Payne to read during Saturday’s event, and has bookmarks with book recommendations available. The Olympia and West Olympia branches of the Timberland Library also helped promote and garner submissions for a kids art exhibit that runs at Olympia City Hall through Feb. 28.
“We’re proud to support this proclamation,” said Timberland Olympia and West Olympia Regional Library Manager Victoria Harmon. “It reflects our core values and principals, empowering patrons through learning opportunities, fostering inclusion as a vital step towards healing and justice, and sharing our story by engaging in meaningful conversations together.”
The City of Olympia acknowledging National Day of Racial Healing sets an important precedent for children in the community setting off on their own racial healing journeys, said Zoey McRae, a mother of four and the South Sound YMCA program director for school age child care.
“Healing is spreading love, peace, and seeing all differences, accepting everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, or any other biases, accepting everyone for who they are and also teaching our children that, as well,” McRae said.
Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day
The Olympia City Council’s third proclamation on Jan. 13 reaffirmed Olympia’s status as a Sanctuary City, asserting that it welcomes immigrants and refugees and “decries enforcement actions by federal immigration authorities that undermine community trust, separate families, and create an atmosphere of fear among immigrant and refugee community members.”
This year is not the City of Olympia’s first recognizing Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day, but the proclamation carried additional weight in the current political climate.
Saying he would be remiss if he didn’t talk about the state of the nation, specifically in regard to federal action against immigrant and refugee communities, Payne said, “There’s no words. I’m outraged. I think what’s happening is really, really despicable. We’re going to look back at this time in our country, and we should be ashamed of ourselves, the fact that people are just being rounded up by our government, and we are told as citizens or residents of this country that we are the criminals, but it seems like the criminals are actually inside of our government agencies.”
Ernesto Oliva of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) was invited to update the Olympia City Council on the organization’s policy work at the state Legislature during this year’s short session.
Priorities for this year include funding Apple Health expansions for immigrants, seeking investments in the WAISN Deportation Defense Hotline, and advancing legislation to protect Washingtonians from the federal mass deportation agenda.
“I encourage everyone here to reflect on what they can do to support their neighbors until dignity becomes a habit,” Oliva said. “Together, we can build a community where all people, regardless of immigration status, are treated with respect and justice.”
