On August 12, a simple memorial to lives lost to police brutality was erected at Kiwanis Park. No signs, no grandiose political message, just dozens of photographs and bundles of flowers hanging on a chainlink fence, a subtle and solemn reminder of a very real and tragic issue. On August 17, that memorial was unceremoniously taken down by Provo City. No immediate explanation was given, and no thought spared for the message this action would send to the community: Black lives do not matter in our city, hence a memorial to Black deaths is unacceptable. This is not a political issue, at its core, but a moral one. There are few valid justifications for ordering the removal of a memorial that honors and mourns the dead.

We petition Provo City, the City Council, and Mayor Michelle Kaufusi to immediately give an explanation for their actions and to allow the Say Their Names memorial to be re-erected. At a time when tens of thousands of students will be returning to Provo to continue their education at BYU, there could not be a more convenient time to remove the memorial, nor could there be a more fitting opportunity to set it back up.

PC: Amanda Jane Jones