East Bethesda is a community that values diversity and condemns racism and intolerance. Like privileged communities throughout the country, we are also being challenged to face our own historical, institutional and personal biases, and to contribute to building a more just and equitable society. We are therefore uncomfortable with the message being displayed on the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in our community announcing, “Grateful for Our Cops Putting Their Lives on the Line Each Day for You and Me”.

It is very hard to interpret this message as anything other than a rebuke to the calls for justice of the # Black Lives Matter movement. It is tone deaf to the reality that our black and brown neighbors suffer significantly higher rates of injury and death at the hands of police in America, and in many other countries around the world. It is a reactionary message out of step with those pronounced by Catholic Bishops of Maryland and Pope Francis who have issued public statements of support to BLM and calls for racial justice. It's a message that can make African-American families who live, work and go to school in East Bethesda feel unwelcome and even unsafe in our neighborhood. It inflames rather than heals deep wounds.

We would therefore respectfully request that the Parish remove this message. Let’s instead work together to build a more inclusive community.