From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — The Birmingham Police Department is taking part in a national project designed to unify communities and the law enforcement officers who serve them.
According to a press release from BPD, the mission of the National Faith and Blue Weekend (NFBW) is to facilitate safer, stronger and more unified communities by connecting law enforcement officers and residents through local houses of worship.
“Finding common ground and ensuring justice for all starts with collaborative and respectful communication and the National Faith and Blue Weekend is evidence of leadership by example,” said Jason Porter, senior vice president, FirstNet Program at AT&T. “Through its mission focused and highly diverse group of faith-based and policing organization leaders, this initiative is laser focused on facilitating positive and actionable community relations between citizens and law enforcement across our Nation. As America’s public safety partner, it’s our honor to support this grassroots effort to strengthen police-community relations in neighborhoods across the country.”
NFBW is scheduled for Oct. 9 – 12, 2020 with planned activities such as community dialogues, service projects and other interactive experiences to help foster ongoing community-law enforcement trust.
“Our pathway to progress around policing as a nation is a collaborative one that focuses on our commonalities rather than our differences,” says Reverend Markel Hutchins, National Lead Organizer, One Congregation One Precinct initiative (OneCOP) and President & CEO, MovementForward, Inc. “Because sixty million Americans attend weekly gatherings at more than 350,000 houses of worship nationwide, nothing rivals the depth and breadth of influence presented by houses of worship who are unique and powerful gateways to the heart of communities in which they have a mutual interest in achieving effective police-community engagement.”
For more information about National Faith and Blue Weekend, visit www.faithandblue.org.
