Black Lives Matter. This is a statement of fact, as is “all lives matter” and “today is Monday.”
But Black Lives Matter is worth contemplating for an extra minute in the face of so many Black Americans so disproportionately victimized by violence, health disparities (before, during and after the pandemic), police overzealousness and brutality, and inequality of respect just about everywhere.
And that’s why it is so important for everyone in Lynn to understand why the message Black Lives Matter is such a powerful, positive message. When you speak the words “Black Lives Matter,” you are saying “I hear you” – “Something’s not right, let’s talk” and “I can be part of the solution.”
And that, in turn, is why the message Black Lives Matter unites us rather than divides us. Because it doesn’t mean “you are less important.” It doesn’t say, “It’s your fault.” It means “justice for all”, but without the subtlety.
Timing Matters. Should Lynn take a public stand now about these issues, or wait a while? Hmm. Has anyone brave, who has ever done anything great, ever waited for the time to be “right?” Let’s do this, right now, in joy and solidarity, rather than wait until something terrible happens here in Lynn and then we’ll be painting the mural with our tears.
Place matters. Everyone knows the place of a message is the message. The One Lynn—One Love group led by Lynn high school students has been promoting a Black Lives Matter mural on Essex Street precisely because the message needs to be heard by those who operate the levers of power at City Hall, the District Court, and the police station.
A street mural on Essex Street will remind all who enter City Hall that the mayor recently declared racism to be an emergency and public health crisis right here in Lynn. It will reinforce our elected officials’ commitment (and oath!) to represent and support all of our city’s citizens. It will inspire the judges entering the courthouse, motivate the police who protect us, and let everyone passing through downtown Lynn know that we find great strength in the diversity of our city.
Can the mural be somewhere else? Of course. Certainly, Mayor Muriel Bowser in Washington D.C. didn’t need to paint “Black Lives Matter” right on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, did she? Or the mural in Manhattan in Foley Square in front of City Hall and the federal courthouse. Or Birmingham, Alabama (Birmingham, for God’s sake) intentionally putting a Black Lives Matter mural in a prominent place because, as an activist advising their mayor said, “We have to refuse to do this easy. We wanted this to be visible for folks who don’t think black lives matter that much.”
Let’s agree that there are some reasons to usher the mural away from the most prominent public institutions in downtown Lynn. But, if those who need to hear the message don’t hear it, does it make a sound?
Community support matters. The proposed Black Lives Matter mural on Essex Street has been discussed all over Lynn since last June, just after the horrifying death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Since then, it has been approved unanimously by the city’s Public Arts Commission.
A Change.org petition in favor of the mural has more 2,000 signatures—including early signer City Councilor Fred Hogan and enthusiastic signer U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.
Members of the Lynn Police Department including Deputy Chief Vail have voiced their support. All Lynn high school class presidents support this. The mural has the support of the Lynn Education District Partnership and the unanimous support of its members including the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce (representing 450 businesses); the Lynn YMCA (serving over 20,000 people annually) and YMCA of Metro North; North Shore Community College; Lynn Public Schools; St. Mary’s School; KIPP Academy; North Shore Christian School; The Daily Item; LEO Inc.; Lynn Museum; Girls Inc.; Raw Arts; La Voz; and Boys & Girls Club and dozens of other groups, including the North Shore Juneteenth Association; Prevent The Cycle, and Beyond Walls.
Does that mean everyone in Lynn supports the mural? No. Does it mean that this is a very, very profound opportunity for the city that goes beyond the idealism of some high school seniors? Yes.
Leadership matters. Last fall, the city of Lynn Law Department wrote to the mayor and City Council concerning the proposal to paint a “Black Lives Matter” mural on Essex Street. The lawyers cautioned the City not to allow it because once the City allows private speech on public property it is creating a “public forum,” a classification which would cause the site to become a designated spot where other groups could demand an equal right to share other messages, even hateful ones, and that the First Amendment would require that the City allow all such requests. Many of our leaders listened to their lawyers and said, “Nope, can’t do it.”
But high school students Carlos Prudencio and Damianny Garrido wondered how come hundreds of other cities around the country found a way to say yes, including Brockton, Worcester, Springfield, Somerville and Boston, and they asked their pro bono lawyers to look at it.
Here is what they learned: Once the City opens up public space to private speech, it is true that the City will be limited in its ability to regulate other private speech in such public space, including hateful messages.
But the City has its own rights to speech and expression, and when the City speaks on its own accord, there is no right to equal access for private speech. So, if the City thinks we should all wear masks, it can say so on a big electronic sign and doesn’t need to offer equal time to anti-maskers.
If the City thinks that Black Lives Matter, then it can say so on Essex Street without any requirement to offer equal opportunity to haters. And last week, the city Law Department wrote a new memo to the mayor and the City Council advising that, under the “government speech doctrine,” the City can indeed proclaim a message as public speech that does not open up a public forum and does not require equal opportunity to every private message out there.
So now comes the true test of leadership. Will our city leaders, representing our wonderfully diverse population, use government speech to speak boldly in the heart of our public institutions that Black Lives Matter, or will they say it’s not the right time, not the right place, not so loudly, don’t want to ruffle feathers, not in an election year?
This week the youth-led team promoting the mural will be submitting a detailed proposal to Mayor McGee and the City Council that includes a vision for a beautiful and positive mural on Essex Street, use of local artists and volunteers, high-quality materials, a timeline, a budget, and a fundraising plan.
Mayor McGee and City Councilors: you will have the message, the plan, the funds, the legal green light, broad community backing and the right timing. Will you please step up? Please lead us in this moment. Right now.
One Lynn—One Love members Carlos Prudencio and Damianny Garrido are English High School seniors. Salem attorney Bob Goldman is a Lynn resident.
