PRESS RELEASE – ALL ARE WELCOME HERE INITIATIVE
March 2026
The Livingston Faith and Race Project is launching a countywide initiative to visibly affirm that all people are welcome in Livingston County.
Background: All religions teach that we should love and welcome all people. However, Livingston County has a reputation that we are not welcoming to our brothers and sisters who are People of Color. That reputation has led us to have far fewer of People of Color living here than the five counties that surround us. For example, our county has 1/20 as many Black residents per capita as those counties . . . and 1/20 per capita compared to our state and our nation. Here’s the full picture of the lack of diversity in our county.
Source: US Census Data
In addition to our moral duty to love and to welcome all people, regardless of their race or ethnicity, there are many more reasons that we should embrace diversity. Here are a few:
- Without diversity, we lack cultural and social richness that it brings.
- Without diversity, our children and grandchildren are not learning how to interact with people who are different from themselves. These are skills essential for their effectiveness in a global economy and diverse communities locally, nationally and globally.
- With a diverse population where all can thrive, we will secure many dividends, such as an expanded and more qualified workforce and a growing middle class that expands markets for businesses.
- With diversity, a community is better ability to solve problems through a more varied array of perspectives and experiences.
- By embracing diversity, we grow in understanding and love – reducing everyone’s anxiety and fear.
The Initiative: If we value diversity and truly love and welcome all people, the first thing we should do is to SAY SO! To help businesses, churches, government offices and civic organizations to do just that, the Livingston Faith and Race Project will provide a free sign to post near their front doors.
Anyone wishing to obtain this sign can just email livfaithandrace@gmail.com and we will get a sign to you.
The Livingston Faith and Race Project is a coalition of people from different faith traditions who hope, pray and work together to promote love, respect and inclusion of people of all races in our community. If you would like to learn more about our organization’s mission/goals and history, to use our resources or to get involved with our activities to help make our county a beloved community, go to our website, livingstonfaithandraceproject.org
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