RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF TRANSFORMATIVE AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
WHEREAS, the mission of the City of Harper Woods is expressly for the benefit of the governed and in service to our residents;
WHEREAS, the City of Harper Woods strives for justice, equity, and compassion in all human relations;
WHEREAS, the City of Harper Woods should serve as a beacon of peace, liberty, and justice for all;
WHEREAS, allowing injustice to go unchallenged violates the mission of our City;
WHEREAS, tragic and violent deaths have occurred because of institutionalized racism and police brutality that disproportionately impacts African Americans and persons of color;
WHEREAS, the City of Harper Woods Public Safety Department is committed to excellence in law enforcement, the preservation of life, and officers are held to the highest standards of loyalty, integrity and honesty, and are expected to work toward critical responsibilities including de-escalation, crisis intervention, and community policing;
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods recognizes that we must advance substantive law enforcement policies to create a community that ensures the rights of all our residents;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods will do whatever is within our power to protect the residents of this City from all forms of oppression;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods will work with organizations and our community toward justice, with the recognition of the interconnected nature of racism and systemic oppression based on socio-economic status, ability, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and language;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods recognize the fight for diversity, accessibility, equality, equity, and civil rights continues, and we urge all people to demand justice against racist and discriminatory practices;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods recognize the importance of, and commits to, developing and establishing just and inclusive policies and practices designed to dismantle racism and all forms of oppression;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods will work actively to enhance educational efforts aimed at understanding, dismantling, and addressing racism and how it affects health, education, human services, social services and economic development in our Public Safety, Court, and Government as a whole;
SO FINALLY, we collectively announce that the Mayor and City Council of Harper Woods are committed to fair, transformative, and restorative actions and policies that are accountable to our community, and that we will actively work to eliminate racism and other forms of injustice by working to make organizational structures more inclusive, enact changes in our policies, systems, practices and perceptions, so that we can create a fair and just community for all residents;
