No more.

Seven years ago, I decided to apply for the role of CEO of the National League of Cities (NLC). My pitch to the leadership of NLC was simple: I wanted to leverage my experience as a former mayor to help other leaders; I wanted to fight for cities on Capitol Hill and with the administration; and, I wanted to push local elected officials to lead on tough issues. The most difficult of these goals has been the last one.  

NLC members are diverse – by gender, race, culture, geography, political affiliation, and community type. In so many incredible ways, our diversity makes us a stronger organization. But sometimes, our diversity also makes us afraid to take on tough topics at the risk of losing members of the NLC family.

That was something I struggled with in 2013 when I felt the issue of race was not being addressed by city leaders. From my home state of Florida, to Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, we saw communities respond to race-based incidents – residents reeling, suffering, and feeling unheard. At that time, it wasn’t that local leaders didn’t want to address the issue of race, but rather, no organization was stepping up and supporting them to lead diverse communities. So, I took the first step and challenged local elected officials to lead on the issues of race and equity.

I did this first by proposing that the NLC Board of Directors establish a program called Race, Equity and Leadership (REAL). It was designed to provide local leaders with knowledge about racial disparities that may exist in their communities, coupled with tools to lead when an incident happens in their cities. Since then, REAL has provided trainings, research and toolkits for local officials, and has worked on the ground in dozens of communities throughout America.

I share all of this because today I am struggling with the role of NLC in the wake of mass killings by domestic terrorists. Do we stand up for our citizens and call things as we see them, or do we remain silent and merely send supportive statements? From what I’m seeing and hearing, I say that America is looking for local leaders to lead. Our residents are calling on us to stand up and confront the increase in gun violence and race-based attacks on innocent people in our neighborhoods, synagogues, churches, malls, and community events.

I often pause and think about why this issue in particular is so difficult. Why are we afraid to confront it head on? Is it because we as city leaders are divided as well? Do we have leaders who are saying that it is better not to offend others than to lead? Are we nervous about our next election? Has political partisanship come to the local level? I don’t know what the answer is but what is happening today is not working.

We cannot let this past weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, be normalized, turned into a political volleyball, and then forgotten. At some point, we can’t do the same thing we’ve done after the other 86 mass shootings that have occurred on our soil since 1999 and expect a different result. It is time that we not remain silent.

I hope and pray that this is the last time that I feel compelled to speak about this type of terrorist attack in America. But it’s going to take more than hopes and prayers. It’s going to take action. It’s going to take courage, and it’s going to take leadership.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said best, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

 It is going to take every local leader standing together during this challenging time saying no more, no more, no more.