City Councilmember D’Andre Jones speaks during the National Day of Racial Healing event at City Hall on Jan. 18, 2023. (City of Fayetteville/Screenshot)City leaders last month held an event in recognition of the National Day of Racial Healing.
The annual observance was launched in January 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation initiative, which aims to introduce racial healing to a broader audience, address the legacy of racism in the country and inspire people to work towards racial equity in their communities.
During the event, held Jan. 18 inside the City Hall chambers, Mayor Lioneld Jordan issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 18 as National Day of Racial Healing in Fayetteville.
“We need to remember the past and the mistakes that we’ve made,” said Jordan. “There’s an old saying that says, ‘When we know better, we do better.’ And we do better today because we owe that to our future and our children and our children’s children.”
» Read Mayor Jordan’s proclamation here
City Councilmember D’Andre Jones led the event, which featured several speakers, including: J.L. Jennings, chair of the Fayetteville Black Heritage Preservation Commission; Reverend Dr. Angela Moseley-Monts, interim vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Arkansas; Sharon Killian, board president of NWA Black Heritage; and Curtiss Smith, senior pastor of the Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church.
Watch the full event embedded below, or visit the city’s YouTube channel.
