June 4, 2020 - The events that have unfolded over the last week have been both heart wrenching and thought-provoking. The senseless loss of lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others because of systemic racism and lack of accountability by authorities cannot be washed away as easily as the graffiti that defaced the Lincoln and WWII Memorials last weekend. We will restore these structures but the damage done by racism in every form is much harder to repair.
We are at a pivotal moment in America’s history. The outcome depends on us all as a meaningful, soul-searching dialogue around power, privilege, and prejudice unfolds.
The Trust for the National Mall stands proudly and in solidarity with the millions affected daily by racial inequity and injustice. We commit to project their voices, to share stories, and empower expression.
As you may have seen, during the protests in Washington, DC, the National Mall did not escape unscathed. The Lincoln Memorial and the WWII Memorial were both marked with graffiti and are being cleaned. However, the more critical action going forward is the dialogue about racial healing.
As an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, said so eloquently in his statement this week, “It is time to make good the promises of American democracy to all citizens – urban and rural, white and black, Spanish-surname, American Indian, and every minority group.” “We’re not there yet…and we should have arrived.”
As an organization, we will continue to fulfill our mission and what it stands for – to ensure the National Mall is accessible to everyone and foster meaningful experiences and opportunities for expression. I received the following description of the National Mall from one of my newest team members and thought it fitting to share today:
The National Mall is the nation’s civic stage, a canvas of expression where we tell the stories about the moments that changed our country forever. It is a destination for both commemoration and demonstration, of celebration and protest. The meaning of the National Mall is profoundly personal, every visitor takes their own lived realities with them and the National Mall – whether through individual reflection or the gathering of fellow citizens in protest – answers back. Each inch of the National Mall, as each inch of America, is filled with a thousand voices: the countless voices of the past and those striving to be heard today. To bear witness to these voices, to say I hear you, is to bear witness to America, to the strength of community and the sorrow of prejudice.
We welcome your thoughts and appreciate your commitment to the National Mall. It is a place for us all to exercise our first amendment rights to peacefully assemble and to express our petitions or grievances.
Thank you for your continued support of the Trust for the National Mall. We will keep you informed of any further developments.
Catherine Townsend
President and CEO