Bay Bridge shares your goal of making our community just, inclusive and welcoming, and we stand behind our vision, as indicated on a now removed sign, that Whitefish Bay will be a welcoming community that recognizes systemic racism, and actively works to address and dismantle it.
This past week the Village of Whitefish Bay, the Whitefish Bay Public Library and Bay Bridge received approximately a dozen requests to remove a sign placed at the Bay Bridge Message Garden in front of the library. The complainants indicated that they interpreted the sign to be categorizing the Village of Whitefish Bay as racist, and they questioned the policy of the library that allowed the sign to be placed there. The Whitefish Bay Public Library decided to remove the sign in the absence of a sign policy and will be working to develop a sign policy for future applications. The Message Garden will continue until its planned end date of June 20.
We ask more people to stand up and take action to make Whitefish Bay a more inclusive place to live, work, and visit. The time is now and we can do our part in our community for those who experience disparities everyday. More voices are needed to advance equity and to support leadership in making the changes that are necessary and urgent.
*Contact village, school, and library leadership to voice your concerns, counter the complaints received and let them know they are supported in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Village Board | Whitefish Bay, WI, Library Board · Whitefish Bay Public Library , BoardDocs® Pro School District of Whitefish Bay
*Attend the July 12 School District of Whitefish Bay community meeting to voice your desire that the district undertake more efforts around diversity, equity & inclusion.
*Give witness on Thursday, June 17 from 5:30 to 6:30pm in Whitefish Bay across from the library to the sacredness of Black lives and the lives of all people of color.
*Review and comment on Bay Bridge community driven goals for our schools and village – goals formulated with input from community surveys and community round tables. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oGrEnxNnwcc and provide comments to BayBridgeWisconsin@gmail.com.
