Mayor Bill White proclaims June 2 Community of Respect™ Day in Houston

Date: June 10, 2009

Over 100 participants in ADL's Community of Respect™ Initiative packed Houston City Council chambers June 2 to celebrate Mayor Bill White proclaiming it Community of Respect™ Day in Houston.
 
Mayor White noted that he was honorary co-chair of the Community of Respect™ Initiative, along with then Sugar Land Mayor Dave Wallace, when the Initiative began in 2006.  He applauded ADL not only for launching such an initiative, but for helping to make it successful.  He also thanked Community of Respect™ participants for reminding themselves and others that diversity is important.  "Whenever we celebrate the diversity in this community, whenever we talk about the diversity in this community as an asset and view it as an asset, well, it makes it more so,"  White said.  He added: "this is one of the things that I really appreciate with this particular initiative."

As he accepted the proclamation, ADL Board Chair Scott Atlas thanked the Mayor for his unwavering support, and gave special thanks to the original underwriters of the initiative, the Bridgeway Foundation and Bridgeway Capital Management.  "It was their vision, combined with their financial resources, that helped make this vision a reality," Atlas said.

Atlas asked all the Community of Respect™ partners in attendance to stand, and when they did, almost everyone in the council chambers was out of their chairs.  

Organizations represented included:

Abrams Scott & Bickley, L.L. P; ADL; AYN Brand; Baha'is of Houston; BMC Software, Inc.; Bridgeway Capital Management/Bridgeway Foundation; Brilliant Lecture Series; Brock Financial; Center for Faith & Culture at the University of St. Thomas; Center for Healing Racism; ChildBuilders, Inc.; Children's Defense Fund Texas; City of Houston Mayor's Youth Council; City of Sugar Land; Congregation Beth Israel; Congregation Brith Shalom; Continental Airlines; Fulbright and Jaworski LLP; Haynes Boone LLP; Hispanic Women in Leadership; Houston Aeros Hockey Team; Houston Area Urban League; Houston Minority Supplier Development Council; Light of Faith Ministries: Project LIFT; Linda Lorelle Scholarship Fund; LULAC District 8; METRO; Mills, Higbie, Harberg and Huvard LLP; MS Legal Search; Nathan Sommers Jacobs, A Professional Corporation; Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Houston; Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church; Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church; Spectra Energy; Temple Beth Torah; Temple Sinai; Thompson & Knight LLP; TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod of the ELCA; University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP.

Every Houston City Council member in attendance added kudos to the Community of Respect™ partners for participating in the Initiative and setting an example not just for their fellow citizens, but for the rest of the country.   "You are the ones who are making this city a shining example of how diversity can be our biggest strength," said council member M. J. Khan. 

Community of Respect™ partners also voiced appreciation for being invited to the event, and for the chance to see they were not alone.  Pam Geyer of Congregation Brith Shalom said, "That was such a lovely celebration!  It's heartwarming to see how many folks in Houston are reached by the ADL’s efforts."

To become a Community of Respect™, members of an organization must submit an Intent Form, sign the Resolution of Respect or create one of their own, create a diversity coalition or appoint a person to oversee implementation of the initiative, complete at least three anti-bias/diversity activities and document completion by filling out Activity Fulfillment Forms.  

For more on how to become a Community of Respect™, go to ADL’s Community of Respect™ page  or call ADL's Southwest Regional Office at 713-627-3490.