We were saddened to hear that last night the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center, which has been supporting children and families in Spokane for 40 years, was victim of a hate crime when a racial slur was found spray painted on the side of their building this morning, right next to the playground.
Today, we joined together in solidarity and song with city leaders, religious leaders, community members, and the media, in what the MLK Center called a “Rally to Erase the Hate.” Every person in attendance was invited to take a paintbrush and collectively paint over this hateful language.
While a powerful and hopeful gathering, a spokesperson at the rally reminded the crowd that we were not just there to erase this message, but to bare witness to injustice and racism which has been a lived reality for many of our community members for far too long. We cannot let it be ignored. Whether as individuals or as an organization, we must have the courage to express that hate and prejudice are unacceptable. Especially when the mission of our organizations are healing and the health of our communities.
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“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble cause of equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in. ”
