Hon. Karen Peconi

Mayor of Arnold

City Hall

1829 5th Avenue

Arnold, PA 15068

Dear Mayor Peconi:

I am writing in response to something that has been brought to my attention in just the past few days. I want to express my thoughts regarding words and images you recently posted on Facebook in connection with demonstrations that took place in the Pittsburgh area following the death of Antwon Rose Jr., a 17-year-old black man who was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in the city of East Pittsburgh.

Before sharing my thoughts with you, I want to be clear about my reasons for writing. I am writing as the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, because you posted and commented on a photograph taken during the civil rights demonstrations that took place in our city in 1963, in a way that completely misrepresented the purpose and meaning of those historic events. I am writing as a black American because I am disappointed that any elected official in our country would hold the sentiments you expressed and endorse the actions that you called for in your post.

I also want to advise you that I am writing this as an open letter, to be shared publicly. In doing so, I hope to encourage constructive reflection by you and others who take the time to consider what I have to say.

In your public comments, you urged police action against those demonstrating peacefully and lawfully to call for prosecution of the police officer who fired the shots that killed Antwon Rose — whom subsequent investigation confirmed was not armed when he attempted to flee the scene of the traffic stop. Accompanying your criticism of the protesters was an iconic photograph of civil rights marchers in Birmingham being assaulted with high-pressure fire hoses, along with the further comment, “I’m posting this so the authorities every where [see it]…. bring the hoses.”

As I have noted, this seems to have been a deliberate misrepresentation on your part of the purpose of the 1963 demonstrations in Birmingham. Those demonstrations — and the oppressive manner in which our city government of the time chose to respond to them — raised the consciousness of Americans to the injustices being protested. They brought about the end of segregation in Birmingham and played a large role in paving the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Today, we in Birmingham take tremendous pride in our city’s role in advancing the causes of justice and equality for all Americans. And, even as we recognize the distance our nation, more than a half-century later, still has to travel along that road, we take pride in Birmingham’s progress and our ongoing emergence as a city of growth and opportunity for all. We honor our past and proudly and actively commemorate the history that was made in our streets — but our eyes and our actions are fixed firmly on the future.

All of which makes your recent actions a cause for disappointment and concern. I am, of course, aware that the officer responsible for the death of Antwon Rose is being prosecuted, and I pray that justice will be served by the outcome of that case. I also am aware of calls for you to resign your position as mayor of Arnold, of your refusal to do so and of actions your city council is taking pursuant to having you removed from office.

I do not care to lend my voice to those efforts, not least because I also am aware that you have apologized publicly for your comments. With that in mind, I am asking that you take the time to understand and reflect on why your use of an image of sacrifice and heroism that took place in Birmingham more than a generation ago was a disservice to those who demonstrated in Birmingham then, to those who demonstrate in the Pittsburgh area now and to the spirit and principles that represent America at its finest.

In Birmingham, we believe that our city’s progress is a testament to the concept of reconciliation. It is that spirit in which I am writing this open letter, which I want to conclude with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose presence on the streets of Birmingham exemplified the purpose of nonviolent protest and helped bring about our — and the nation’s — progress on matters of race and human rights:

The method of nonviolence seeks not to humiliate and not to defeat the oppressor, but it seeks to win his friendship and his understanding. And thereby and therefore, the aftermath of this method is reconciliation.

Respectfully,

Randall L. Woodfin

Mayor, City of Birmingham