Atlanta-based social change organization, MovementForward, Inc., and every major law enforcement group from across the United States are jointly organizing the “most consolidated police-community engagement project in history” – National Faith & Blue Weekend 2021.
As crime continues to escalate and tensions persist, leaders from National Faith & Blue Weekend tout historic movement aimed at changing hearts, minds, and policies by bringing people in law enforcement and the community together for the second annual Faith & Blue Weekend to take place Friday, October 8, through Monday, October 11, 2021.
“For the past several years, we’ve seen enormous strains in the relationship between law enforcement and communities,”said Rev. Markel Hutchins, MovementForward CEO and Faith & Blue lead organizer. “Recent times have proven that we cannot simply march and protest away the problems — we have to turn our pain into power. Our pathway to progress around policing as a nation is a collaborative one that focuses on our commonalities rather than our differences.”
In addition to every major national law enforcement group who joined the movement, Faith & Blue Weekend is also supported by more than 50 state sheriffs’, police chiefs’, and prosecutors’ associations from coast to coast. Each of these associations is working to bring Faith & Blue events and partnerships to communities across their respective states.
During National Faith & Blue Weekend 2021, law enforcement agencies across the United States will partner with faith-based and other community organizations to host public activities focused on repairing and strengthening the bond between communities and those who protect them. Activities will include forums and town halls, peace and unity walks and marches, picnics, athletic events, vigils, and other activities that foster an environment of problem-solving, resolution, and reconciliation. The activities will be conducted in a socially distanced manner, in small groups, and virtually.
In its inaugural year of 2020, National Faith & Blue Weekend facilitated 1,000 community-led activities in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Reverend Hutchins says he believes the compounded stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and the perilous strains on police-community relations across the country brought about a need to strengthen connections with local law enforcement through solutions-focused partnerships in every neighborhood in America.
“We do this because we have faith in our collective humanity and faith in one another,” said Hutchins. “We can all be the change we wish to see.”
To learn more and sign up to host an event in your community, visit www.faithandblue.org.
