Best First Step: BLM mural painted on Rosalind Avenue

BLM mural painted on Rosalind Avenue

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and few would claim that Orlando city leaders had anything but the best intentions in mind when they painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in letters 30 feet high on the surface of Rosalind Avenue. So we were very, very proud to see our city joining the national trend of proclaiming that Black Lives Matter in the most public way possible. But many residents, Black and white alike, question its utility. If the mural is a giant reminder to city and county staff of what they need to change in terms of policing and systemic racism, great, it's a first step. If there's no action following up the message, then it's an empty gesture, a pretty label slapped over an ugly history. Let's not let that happen.