Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Quorum Court, City Council, Regional Chamber Sign Historic Documents
Governor Applauds Joint Resolution Denouncing Racism and Encouraging Arkansas Legislative Action on Hate Crimes
HARRISON, Ark, (September 2, 2020) – The Boone County Quorum Court, the Harrison City Council and the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce took joint action to formally denounce racism, hatred and bigotry, and encourage the Arkansas legislature to introduce and pass comprehensive hate crimes legislation. County Judge Robert Hathaway, Mayor Jerry Jackson, and Chamber President/CEO Bob Largent affixed their signatures to respective resolutions reflecting the recent actions by their elected entities. At the John Paul Hammerschmidt Conference Center at North Arkansas College, elected Justices of the Peace and City Council members joined Chamber directors and community business leaders for the historic event. Following the signing ceremony, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, via letter, thanked the leaders and the community for their actions with the following message, “In four short paragraphs, the Harrison City Council and Boone County Quorum Court have powerfully condemned racism, hate, and bigotry. With words that are simple and direct, the leaders of the city and county are sending the unambivalent message that the time has come for Arkansas to enact hate-crime legislation. I commend Boone County for affirming that we are at the point in our history that we must hold to a greater degree of accountability those people whose violent acts against another are born of a hatred for their victims’ race or religion,” Hathaway, Jackson and Melissa Collins, principal broker at Weichert, Realtors-Market Edge, and chair of the Chamber Board, also announced their intent to empower a nine member panel composed of their respective constituents, to identify opportunities and develop initiatives that will promote local diversity and inclusion, noting they expect this panel to begin their work before the end of September. “The action today was the right thing for our community to do,” said Collins. On a business trip out of state, she joined the event via video, along with the Executive Director of the State’s Dr Martin Luther King Jr Commission, DuShun Scarborough. She repeated an earlier comment, continuing, “Simply put, there is zero tolerance for hate speech in our community,” and adding, “The joint actions today signal that and a major unifying effort of our elected officials. This speaks volumes for our business, industry and economy.”