“Celebrate the Light” Event Planned to Celebrate Diversity & Inclusion in Richard Spencer’s Hometown
Whitefish, MT 59937
USA
Whitefish, Mont, – It’s been two years since the Whitefish City Council adopted a resolution supporting diversity and tolerance in the community, taking a stance in support of community values that promote inclusion and acceptance for all of the city’s inhabitants and visitors.
“I was very proud of Whitefish that day,” said Councilor Frank Sweeney, who moved to adopt the resolution. “The chamber was packed with people and citizen after citizen spoke out in favor of the measure. In essence, our community was collectively saying that ‘all are welcome in Whitefish.’”
In recent weeks, individuals and groups espousing white supremacy, the so-called “alt-right,” have inserted Whitefish into state and national media coverage, claiming they have “roots” in the town.
Community leaders are pushing back on this idea, citing the resolution as documentation that Whitefish celebrates the dignity and diversity of all its citizens and visitors, and rejects such hate-based ideologies. The Resolution adopted December 1, 2014 reads “The Whitefish City Council declares its support of Whitefish community values that recognize and celebrate the dignity, diversity, and inclusion of all of its inhabitants and visitors, and condemn ideologies, philosophies and movements that deny equality of human rights and opportunities and challenge our Constitutional freedoms granted by the United States and the State of Montana, and protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to exercise their civil rights, including the rights of free speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom from discrimination.” It continues: “Nothing in this Resolution is intended to alter or abridge other rights, protections, or privileges secured by state or federal law, including state and federal constitutional protections of freedom of speech, assembly, and exercise of religion.
“Our community cannot be defined by one person’s extreme ideologies. As Mayor let me assure you, all are welcome in Whitefish.” said Mayor John Muhlfeld. “It’s the people who live and work in Whitefish every day, those who run local businesses and volunteer their time to help make our town better, that represent our shared sense of community values.”
Love Lives Here, a non-profit organization committed to creating caring, open, and welcoming communities throughout the Flathead, led the charge on the 2014 Resolution and continues to take an active role in organizing against hate-based extremism in the area. On December 9, 2016, the group will “Celebrate the Light,” to honor the fact that, for only the fourth time in the last 100 years, Christmas and Chanukah will fall on the same day. All are welcome to the event of music, singing and celebrating diversity.
“Whitefish is blessed to have dedicated faith leaders that are committed to bringing light to the darkness,” said Ina Albert, a founder of Love Lives Here in Flathead Valley. “Separatism can only grow if the soil is receptive to prejudice. Truth, love and kindness will always win out if our community can find ways to accept and validate each others’ liberties and freedoms.”
Love Lives Here is also encouraging local businesses to display “Love Lives Here” signs in their store windows to show their patrons that Whitefish businesses support a diverse and unified community based on mutual respect.
“An open and accepting community draws visitors, welcomes everyone, and keeps Whitefish a place where we all love to live,” said Kelly Marchetti, owner of Sprouts, a children’s clothing store located in downtown Whitefish. “Hate can only hurt us and we have to stand up to it.”
Love Lives Here is a non-profit organization located in northwest Montana with it’s headquarters in Kalispell and serving communities like Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Kalispell and the surrounding areas within the Flathead Valley. Love Lives Here is committed to co-creating a caring, open, accepting and diverse community, free from discrimination and dedicated to equal treatment for all our citizens.
For more information and to download a Love Lives Here sign to display in the window of a home or business, visit: www.loveliveshereflathead.org.
For current events, follow: www.facebook.com/LoveLivesHereFlathead/
Thanks for spreading the word. Ina