The St. Louis Park City Council in Minnesota decided by unanimous vote that it would no longer recite the Pledge of Allegiance because they wanted to create a “more welcoming environment” and concern that it might intimidate immigrants.
“We’ve had some racial equity initiatives going on in the city of St. Louis Park of awhile where we’re trying to get more diverse communities and historically less engaged communities to come and participate in our public process,” Councilman Tim Brausen told the Star Tribune on Wednesday. “Given the current Washington politics that are going on now, there’s a lot of people that are afraid of our government, and we worry about that.”
“We all love our country dearly, and we demonstrate that by our service as elected officials all the time,” said Councilwoman Anne Mavity, the sponsor of the measure. “I want to make sure that we are welcoming to everyone in our community, and so I just felt that was unnecessary component to include every single week in our work.”
Brausen said he hoped there would not be any outrage over the move and that it would make the community more welcoming.
“I hope it’s not too controversial,” he said. “Our community tends to be a very welcoming and increasingly diverse community, and we believe our citizens will understand. I don’t think we’re going to be any less welcoming by not starting our meeting out with the standard ritual.”
The measure, which passed in a 5-0 vote, will take effect July 15.
