pages: CityCouncil/2020-07-14.pdf, 14
This data as json
body | date | page | text | path |
---|---|---|---|---|
CityCouncil | 2020-07-14 | 14 | unfettered ability to be heard; Council is moving forward rapidly. Councilmember Vella stated that a number of public commenters announced how long they have lived in Alameda; time of residency does not matter; each voice matters; there are a number of reasons for people to speak and address Council; the credentials of how long someone has lived in Alameda should not matter and are part of systemic racism; racism is not an individual thing, it is not a personal attack on any individual; racism is the over 400 years of systemic legal racism that leads to disparate outcomes and deaths of BIPOC; the goal of the resolution is to specifically call out racial disparities: income, health, wealth, education, access to upward mobility and a number of other things related to quality of life; racism is the causation of disproportionately high rates of homelessness, incarceration, economic hardship and poor outcomes in education and health; racism is not an attack on any individual; racism is the disparate outcomes happening; systemic racism is legalized racism which has occurred throughout all systems; California is not immune from racism; even though California rejected slavery, it committed genocide against Native Americans; outlined historic genocide information; stated California has overwhelmingly voted to continue racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing; the State and United States Supreme Courts ruled discrimination is unconstitutional; many laws have been racist and created systems where simply being a race meant actions were illegal and crimes; Alameda is not leading the way in declaring racism a public health crisis; Wisconsin State and municipalities were the first, along with Indiana, Michigan and Ohio; Alameda can look to the other cities which have declared racism a public health crisis; she has reached out to cities which have declared racism a public health crisis to understand the impact verbiage has on the declaration; the trend is identifying words which showcase racism as a problem; it is important to start there from a public policy standpoint; it is important to identify the lens with which progress will take place; resolutions are often followed with a directive or process to determine the best way to promote racial equity; the subcommittee will report back with recommendations to the governing body within six months to one year; discussed generally accepted public health issues; stated it should be easy to declare racism as a public health issue; the order with which Council is approaching is off from other municipalities; expressed support for defining the problem and looking at the matter through the lens of racism; noted public comments provided have been helpful; expressed support for getting out the core sentiment that racism is a public health issue; stated the matter is beyond the Police Department and is Citywide; there is a way to combine the process; expressed support for adding language which clarifies or adds clear direction to community groups; stated the City has not been clear about which powers have been surrendered; a defined process incorporating directives needs to be established; expressed support for empowering the community group to define and gather data needed to inform its decision, for the community led group to provide recommendations on shifting resources, for finding funding for the programs recommended and to make recommendations across the board for Citywide change to define short and long-term goals and to look at the issues for the five areas provided by Council with a racial lens; stated it is important to have the racial lens when looking at the issues; surrendering to community process is daunting and jarring; informative change will not occur without voices of support from the White community; the silence Special Meeting Alameda City Council 14 July 14, 2020 | CityCouncil/2020-07-14.pdf |