allendale township library allendale township library

It was the hill they were willing to die on.” “They just did not want to budge off of what they were standing on. We tried a number of things with them,” Miller said. Miller, who has since left Allendale Township in part due to these events, said he wanted to help foster racial tolerance and make Allendale a “more welcoming community for families like mine.' He said he tried to reason with township officials over the matter, but to no avail. The township then rejected Miller’s applications, and those of other civil rights activists who had submitted similar applications. So in protest, he submitted applications for engravings that included phrases such as “Black Lives Matter” and “Indigenous Lives Matter,” followed by veteran names.Īccording to the lawsuit, the Allendale Township board then changed the rules-inscribed bricks honoring veterans could only include a name, plus basic details of their service. Navy veteran Tony Miller found that racist. The Garden of Honor also has a monument that includes a Confederate soldier. Messages range from commemorative, such as “Allendale Class of 2003,” to religious, such as, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

The Ottawa County township has what it calls a “Garden of Honor.” It allows people to purchase bricks engraved with messages of their choice, and display them there. Allendale Township violated a Black veteran’s civil rights when it rejected his efforts to put racial justice messages on public display, according to a new federal civil rights lawsuit.

Allendale township library allendale township library