To help the Petal community come together and find ways to affect positive change in the midst of national turmoil, Ward 3 Alderman Clint Moore and other city leaders are working on a long-term action plan that will feature ways to connect and move forward over the next year or so.
Although the details of that plan aren't finalized yet, officials are asking residents to keep their calendars open for an event on June 20 – whether that be a day in the park, a barbeque or other activity – when more information on that initiative will be rolled out.
"We're meeting with some folks in the black community and some folks in the white community, and trying to figure out a way that over the next 12 months we can really do a hardcore, community-wide education initiative," Moore said. "Basically, all politics aside, for the next 12 months you don't have to take a stand one way or the other. We just want people to listen, get facts and understand why people feel the way they feel.
“So right now we're developing a curriculum ... then we're going to go to our community partners, the faith-based community and the civic organizations, and explain the plan to them. We're going to ask them to come on board with us and commit to this year-long quest for understanding. So we're not sure what that (June 20) event will look like, but it will be some sort of event where we can get people involved and explain to them our concept and ask them to buy into our concept.”
Moore said the idea of the initiative is to shift away from the negative publicity that has surrounded Mayor Hal Marx, who recently has come under fire for his social media comments regarding the fatal encounter between George Floyd and Minneapolis police.
After Marx made the comments, the board of aldermen – along with several community members – asked the mayor to resign during a special-called meeting, but he has so far refused to go along with that request.
Shortly after the board asked Marx to resign, a three-day protest was held by citizens calling for his resignation outside Petal City Hall.
“If (Marx) were to leave today, honestly nothing different would happen,” Moore said. “People would still feel the exact same way they feel today; the only thing is, we'd have a new mayor.
“So our goal is really to go beyond the minds of the people and speak to their hearts, so that we see some long-term change, rather than some short-term reaction.”
Moore said the idea of the initiative was born, in part, from hearing people ask what they could do to help during the current state of affairs.
“Over the next six weeks, nothing's going to change – it's just a fact, because it's too big of a problem in our society,” he said. “But what can change is peoples' hearts, and until peoples' hearts change, nothing else is going to change.
“So when people want to ask what they can do, and they're looking for a quick action with a real fast result and then everything's going to be perfect – that's not a reality. The reality is, we slowly change ourselves, and then over time that transforms our community.”
Moore said the process will be a long one, rather than a quick change back to “normal.”
“‘Normal’ is people don't understand each other, ‘normal’ is people don't really get along, and ‘normal’ is we all come together on Friday night and cheer on these athletes, but yet we see them in Walmart on Sunday and we act like we're not even going to acknowledge them,” he said. “These problems are way deeper than who's our current mayor.
“So rather than use up all this political capital and energy to just try and get the mayor removed – it'll help, but it's not going to solve the big issues – let's use all that for something that can make some lasting change.”
More details on the plan will be released as officials continue to meet and finalize aspects of the initiative.
