Jacksonville Mayor issues pledge against racism and injustice

Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips issued a pledge Thursday with his Faith Committee against racism and injustice.

The mayor was meeting with the Faith Committee to talk about how Jacksonville can avoid systemic racism.

The pledge is as follows:

We, the undersigned, stand together against racism and injustice in any form.

We condemn the many tragedies that have occurred because officers did not follow proper training policies and common decency.

We understand and are committed to the basic rights of our fellow Citizens.

We pledge that we will respect and give civility to all.

We also praise the participation of our Jacksonville Citizens who work daily to build One City, Our City, My City.

We commend the City of Jacksonville Police Department and Chief for their work in the community.

Today we stand united for justice for all and strongly encourage every Citizen to treat every other Citizen with respect and civility regardless of race, color, creed, religion or gender.

After issuing the pledge at the Freedom Fountain, the mayor met with the committee to work on an action plan.

The committee also heard from Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero about the prohibition of some of the techniques that caused George Floyd's death.

The Faith Committee developed some concepts for additional actions for unity and support and intends to continue to work on the issue at future meetings.