A reminder …
“PROCLAMATION
RECOGNIZING THE SUFFERING
AND HEROISM OF THE
UKRAINIAN PEOPLE
IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY AND INDEPENDENCE
PATRIOTS’ DAY, 2022”
Concord Select Board – April 4, 2022
(capitalization and format in original)
The Proclamation further states:
“ [T]he residents of Concord have a special duty imposed on us as the living heritage of this place we inhabit…and in which the great step taken in the struggle for human dignity and independence long ago has not been forgotten;
and it is our sacred duty to support…those who, like our predecessors, are now giving their all to defend their own liberty….”
The Proclamation concludes with a directive:
“[The] Concord Select Board does hereby declare that the struggle and sacrifice of the Ukrainian people shall be recognized on our observance of Patriot’s Day in the year 2022.”
Now, less than a year later …
On February 17, 2023, the Parades and Celebrations Committee” (PCCC) informed ‘Concord for Ukraine’ in writing that it would not be allowed to participate in the 2023 parade because:
“Concord for Ukraine does not constitute a viable participating unit.”
‘Concord for Ukraine,’ which promotes the culture and support of Ukrainian democracy is, in fact, quite ‘viable.’ It was a Select Board approved participant in the December 2022 tree-lighting; it has raised money for delivery of hospital beds to Ukraine; it recently partnered with the venerable Concord Bookstore to showcase Ukrainian books and culture in an upcoming display; etc.
The Select Board was not merely posturing when it wrote that there is a “special duty imposed on [the citizens of Concord]” to support the fight for democracy in Ukraine.
And the Select Board’s clear directive to “[r]ecognize [Ukraine] in our observance of Patriots Day” means exactly what it says.
Pamela Talbot
Conant Street
