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Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and Police Chief Kevin Coppinger deserve credit for acting fast to safeguard Lynn residents in the wake of Sunday’s Orlando massacre.
Local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community members quickly praised the police for moving to place officers outside community gathering places. One LGBT community member described driving to work in fear on Sunday only to have his spirits lifted when he saw a cruiser parked in front of his place of business.
Since taking office in 2010, Kennedy has been a friend to the LGBT community. She has welcomed community members at her functions, patronized their businesses and shown respect and appreciation for LGBT community contributions.
She is the mayor of all of Lynn’s residents, but she has done a good job acknowledging groups and individuals representing a cross section of the city. That recognition is important. Every subgroup in the city has a history marked by struggles, even discrimination, as well as a history of contributing to the city.
War memorials across Lynn bear mute tribute to residents from a dozen different backgrounds who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation they served and for the cause of freedom. Lynn’s history is a history of individuals overcoming racial discrimination, ethnic bias and religious intolerance to become productive and valued residents.
LGBT community members waged individual struggles for acceptance in the context of family and workplace and they battled during the formative years of the gay rights movement to be heard and truly call themselves free Americans. Perhaps the most courageous act committed by LGBT community members is their steadfast refusal to remain silent and allow individuals or societal norms to dictate their lives.
Kennedy has done a good job recognizing these struggles and reached out to LGBT residents with the same commitment she has shown to other groups. Her tenure as mayor has seen the formation of a city Human Rights Commission. She instituted the practice of raising flags representative of Lynn’s separate but inclusive communities next to City Hall.
The rainbow flag symbolizing inclusiveness will fly next to City Hall on Friday beside the U.S. flag flying at half mast in memory of the Orlando victims. Together the flags will serve as a mute and poignant salute to so many who will struggle with sorrow for so long.