 Hi. My name is Kitel Gellick. I have lived in Arlington for about 12 years in Precinct 19, and I serve as a co-chair of the Diversity Task Group under Envision Arlington. I'm coming to you today to talk about Warned Article 25, which requests that you consider the reinstatement on Town Hall of a Black Lives Matter banner. And to recommend to the select board that they reinstate that banner, which they have removed. Thank you so much for listening to my statement, and I hope that it will be followed by a really open and productive discussion. Of course, I'm just one person out of so many who are advocating for this action, and I wanted to mention some of the groups and individuals that have endorsed this Warned Article. They include the Diversity Task Group of Envision Arlington, the Arlington Human Rights Commission, the Arlington High School Black Student Union, Arlington Helps Mutual Aid, Arlington Fights Racism, the Mystic Valley Chapter of the NAACP, and in particular, D.D. Delgado, an anti-racist educator and activist. Ms. Delgado is the founder and former director of the Black Lives Matter, Cambridge Chapter, and she was a featured guest speaker for the Town of Arlington's Black Lives Matter Day virtual event hosted by the Human Rights Commission this past summer. In addition, when the banner was removed from Town Hall, an online petition gathered over 350 signatures asking that the banner be replaced. And for this particular Warned Article 25, we gathered over 200 in-person signatures in just 24 hours. So I hope all of this shows that there is very broad support in the Town and in our communities for maintaining the Black Lives Matter banner at Town Hall. I also want to make it clear that I know that Town Meeting members are here to discuss this and to make a recommendation to the Select Board that it is up to the five members of the Select Board to decide what happens to the banner. So I just want to take a few minutes to address why I feel this action is so critical for our Town and some of the concerns that have arisen around it. This is a moment in our history that cannot be ignored. It is an opportunity to affirm the humanity of Black Lives and to denounce the ongoing ways that Black Americans are systemically oppressed. There is no Town or City that is immune from concerns over racial justice. In fact, these are basic human rights and Arlington has recognized that through its many efforts to promote racial equity. Those efforts and those values transcend any politics and must not be reduced to labels like left-wing and right-wing, Democrat and Republican, or pro-police and anti-police. Those are all distractions from the central message behind Black Lives Matter, which is a human rights message. And focusing on those labels are ways that people project their own fears and assumptions onto a banner that gives hope to so many people. Of course, our efforts to change policies make our schools more inclusive and bring our community together are all vital. In some way, that placing a banner on Town Hall would make us complacent or would somehow infer that the job is now done. This is not at all the case. We need to let people know that our Town in its outward-facing action matches the inward-facing actions that it is taking so that there is no ambiguity and that it's clear to all where we stand. Everyone does not need to shy away from making this public statement. Rather it needs to embrace it. Inclusivity is very important for all, and hanging a Black Lives Matter banner does not take away from that idea of broad inclusivity. There are many other marginalized communities, for example the LGBT community, who have all affirmed that this is a time in our history when we do need to center Black Lives. I also believe that a banner creates an emotional connection between the Town and its Black and Brown residents, in fact with all of its residents, and it lets them know that they are seen and are important and valued part of the community. And that goes for not only the adults in this town, but for all of the young people, the children as well. Finally, I'll say I was recently asked a question about a banner with different wording. You know, someone asked me could we have a banner that says Arlington supports Black Lives, but is not specifically a Black Lives Matter banner? And to that I would respond that as a white person, I can't really answer that question, because to do so would be for me to co-opt a human rights movement that I did not create. It's the voice of the Black people seeking equal human rights. Who could speak to that? So I give you that just as a point so that if it comes up in your discussion, you can think about whether an alternate banner would be appropriate and how to get more information on how to answer that question. Again, I want to thank you so very much for listening, and I hope that you will open your minds as you have this discussion amongst yourselves, and I look forward to listening and hearing more. Thank you.