Coast Celebrates National Day of Racial Healing

Cities across the U.S. are holding events to honor the very first National Day of Racial Healing.
After being in the public eye of racial controversy, community officials say the City of Biloxi couldn’t have been a better place to kick off the Coast’s own string of events.
People of all different religions, backgrounds, and races gathered in Biloxi for a ceremony honoring National Day of Racial Healing, part of a larger movement to embrace a new narrative across the country: a belief in common humanity. Roberta Avila with the Steps Coalition said, “We’ve all in some way been wounded by this hierarchy of human value.”
Aiming to repair hurt from racial tension in our community, the Steps Coalition led the program through song, faith and discussion. The ceremony was held at the Seashore United Methodist Church in Biloxi and comes days before Donald Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States. Faith Leader Imam Tariq Abdul-Mu’Min said, “In light of the post-election and the election, some of the rhetoric that’s been spoken, this is needed.”
Program leaders want the public to take a stand and bring what was learned at the ceremony further than the church walls and into the community so the public can practice that call to action all year long. “This day is just a beginning of many conversations that we hope will happen,” said Avila.
The Steps Coalition has a question for the Coast: “What is it that we want to do in our community to improve relationships or change structures?” said Avila.