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Hello, I am Kathy Moore, Mayor of Rossland. It’s great to see so many of you out in the rain, showing your support for this very important cause.  Thank you to the event organizers. Today as we stand on the lands that many 1st nations and Indigenous people walked before us, it is appropriate that we consider that Black and Indigenous lives matter. We need to consider the historic and systemic racism that has defined our culture for far too long. We live in a time of unparalleled social inequity. Canada has had a troubled history with social justice, attitudes towards, and opportunities for all, that are not equal. Nowhere close. This a struggle we must all take up. 

Someone said to me; “why should there be a rally in Rossland? We don’t have those issues”. And maybe we don’t, on the scale we are seeing elsewhere. True, Rossland is a homogenous community without a lot of diversity. But that misses the point. It’s the people who have not experienced racism and have not suffered the injustices who need to stand in solidarity. Only with the support of society as a whole will real change happen.

This is a period of terrible inequity, but also a time of hope. There is a fever and storm brewing in the US. Not only are our neighbours to the south fighting the pandemic but they are also experiencing the biggest upheaval of social unrest since the 60s.

When you watch the news, look at all the faces in the crowd; you see people of all races and ages marching for social justice; indeed Black Lives Matter. Here in Rossland, this is a large and committed crowd. Gatherings like this are being replicated all over North America; that is why I am optimistic that things indeed will change. Thank you all for coming out here today.

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