Resolution 230632

..Title Honoring Council Member Michalyn Easter-Thomas of Memphis, Tennessee, for her exemplary leadership on police reform in Memphis and welcoming her to the City of Philadelphia. ..Body WHEREAS, Michalyn Easter-Thomas is a Memphis City Council Member from the 7th Councilmanic District, which represents North Memphis, and parts of Uptown and Downtown, among other sections of the city; and WHEREAS, Following the death of Tyre Nichols, Council Member Easter-Thomas exhibited exemplary leadership by guiding her community through hardship with community driven initiatives and legislation; and WHEREAS, Council Member Easter-Thomas took inspiration from Philadelphia City Council in replicating Memphis City Council's own version of the Driving Equality Law, which reclassifies the enforcement mechanism of eight minor traffic violations; and WHEREAS, Council Member Easter-Thomas worked closely with Council Member Thomas's office to ensure the ordinance could be implemented appropriately in Memphis. Memphis is among many municipalities across the country to adopt Driving Equality as a national model for police reform; and WHEREAS, She founded Our Grass Our Roots (OGOR), a collaborative non-profit interested in pushing back against gentrification in North Memphis; and WHEREAS, Prior to her work in Memphis City Council, Council Member Easter-Thomas was a teacher at Overton High School in the Memphis-Shelby County School District. Presently, she is the education initiatives and strategic partnerships director of the Memphis River Parks Partnership; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby congratulate and honor Council Member Michalyn Easter-Thomas of Memphis, Tennessee, for her exemplary leadership on police reform and welcoming her to the City of Philadelphia. FURTHER RESOLVED, That an engrossed copy be presented to Council Member Michalyn Easter-Thomas further evidencing the sincere admiration and respect of this legislative body. ..End