2020.09.02 WS Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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 Councilmember Allen stated his word was transformation. He reported the issue of inclusion had a higher focus and resources were being allocated in order to transform this topic in the community.  Mr. Vazquez stated in order to build a community that is equitable, inclusive and creates a sense of belonging people have to address their own personal biases. He asked what personal biases towards racial injustice do people see in themselves.  Mayor Johnson commented this was a tough conversation and she wanted to be honest and vulnerable. She discussed a situation that occurred in the last month at her home. She stated she was sitting on her front porch, on a nice evening and people were walking by. She indicated one of the individuals that walked by happened to be black and she wondered where he lived. She stated she caught herself because she didn’t have this same thought for any of the other passersby. She commented she didn’t care where he lived, but caught herself thinking this in her mind. She explained one of the things she notices about people was the color of their skin. She reported she has lived in her home for over 40+ years and there were not a lot of people of color who walk her neighborhood. She stated after she caught herself, she was thankful that her neighborhood was becoming more diverse.  Mr. Vazquez described how the “Minnesota Nice” thing was working against people at this time. He encouraged people to not worry about saying something wrong because it will be through saying something wrong that the community will be able to acknowledge it and move forward. He feared that the fear of doing something wrong was standing in the way of moving this issue forward.  Mayor Johnson discussed the importance of putting yourself out there and being willing to be vulnerable at this time.  Mr. Justin indicated he has lived in Minnesota his whole life and he has had limited experience with minorities. He stated his minority experience was with different religions in his neighborhood. He commented on the situational biases he has. He explained he introduces himself to the young males in his neighborhood because then he was less likely to be vandalized. He stated when he sees someone he doesn’t know when he is out walking, he pays attention. He reported yesterday he saw a minority person walking his mother and he nodded, said hello, which is something he would do to anybody who was walking by his home. He noted he lives by a park and there were lots of people that walked by. He anticipated all people have biases based on stereotypes and these biases are either acknowledged or ignored. He stated he pays attention to the people in his neighborhood because of situations that have occurred on his property.  Mr. Vazquez reported last week was very hot and he was outside gardening. He had a person come by trying to sell windows that asked to speak to the homeowner. He told the salesman that the homeowner was not available because he was working in the garden. He stated the person recognized his mistake and apologized for his assumption. He indicated people need to be aware of the biases they have and how they were contributing to racial injustice.  Councilmember Jacobsen explained he has hosted a number of foreign students from all over the world. He indicated he recently had a student from Japan that wanted to eat sushi. He stated they visited Teppanyaki Grill and he asked one of the Japanese looking employees if they could talk to his foreign exchange student. He commented he had an eye opening experience when the white manager spoke Japanese to his student.  Ms. Becher indicated she works at the University with a lot of students from a lot of different places. She reported one of the students was Turkish and she wore a hijab. She stated she found she was nervous because she was of Jewish decent. She explained after getting to know this student more she found out she leads an organization for Jewish and Muslim women that get together on a monthly basis to complete service community service and to heal the relationship between these two religions. She commented this was a startling experience for her.  Mr. Boyd explained everyone has biases. He stated the most dangerous thing is not recognizing these biases. He reported he has had a long time to learn about his biases given his age. He indicated he doesn’t always have patience for younger people who are not yet mature, but noted he is reminded of