Pittsburgh hosts Strong Cities Network Mayoral retreat to address hate and violence
Government leaders from across North America gathered in Pittsburgh for the Strong Cities Network retreat to discuss combating hate and violence in communities.
PITTSBURGH —
Dozens of government leaders from across the nation gathered in Pittsburgh for the Strong Cities Network mayoral retreat at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
The seminar focused on educating officials about potential threats and violence occurring across the country. Leaders discussed the forms of hate they are seeing in their communities, ways to combat it, and strategies to improve their cities.
“Extremism throughout the globe happens in urban communities. And there are particular reasons for that, whether that’s economic impoverishment, ideological silos, all of these things are realities,” said Rev. Dr. Asa Lee, president of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. “And so Strong Cities is committed to helping resource mayors and their administrations to combat those issues and a holistic approach towards addressing these things.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor delivered the opening remarks, addressing the hate Pittsburgh has experienced, including the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, and how the tragic event brought the community together.
“We’re seeing so much hate speech. And we do know the incident that occurred, obviously in Pittsburgh, that we want to talk about and then show how our city came together after the fact and became stronger,” O’Connor said.
The mayor also shared that the city has hired five residents to work in violence prevention. These individuals will engage with young people, sharing their personal experiences with violence and encouraging them to make positive changes.