The Black Lives Matter Banner will be up from 1/14/24 through 1/21/24The First Parish Standing Committee first voted to raise a Black Lives Matter banner in solidarity with the movement Friday, June 19, 2020, shortly after the murder of George Floyd and the unrest that followed.
We felt it was important to explain to our community why we chose to fly the banner, so we published the following Letter to the editor in the Chelmsford Independent:
As an article of faith we feel called to show support for the movement: Our first principle does, after all, declare “We affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person.” Also we are the oldest congregation in town. Being prominently located in the center of town, on the Common, makes our church a good place for a visible reflection of the commitment so many people in the town showed at the moving vigil held here. Finally, we believe it’s important to show the children of this community, especially the children of color, that black lives DO matter to us.
June 19 seemed a fitting date to raise the banner, because it is also Juneteenth, African American Emancipation Day. First observed in Galveston, Texas in 1865 Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when a Union Army general and his troops arrived in Galveston taking over the state and enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation. It is now observed in 46 states (all except Hawaii, the Dakotas, and Montana) and the District of Columbia.
