Comments by Councilman Ross about a "color blind" past draw sharp responses from Council members McKillop and Malhi, who details experiences with racism that include his time on dais
My comments were intended to convey the gratitude I had for growing up in a racially diverse town, and the parts that were positive: the differences, the similarities, and how a number of us overcame the ingrained racial Martínez had, and still does.
How? By a supportive faculty at all levels of education that helped us see each other as equals ( it was the early 70’s in the Bay Area).
Included in this environment was seeing women as equals too ( which I alluded to in my comment).
But we weren’t stupid- the tension, racism and sexism outside the school biome was all too clear to us in the Class of ‘75 at Alhambra.
What was clear to me then and now it takes effort, brutal honesty, and humility to truly know each other and foster at least respect and tolerance for differences.
I took the opportunity to be positive and express gratitude for those that taught me the above virtues (respect and tolerance in the least)in a town that had plenty of examples to grow up otherwise.
Hopefully this commission will make progress in enabling the conversations and actions at the City governance level that foster the positive results in the community as my Martínez school teachers did for me and my world view of race and gender.
Thanks for taking the opportunity here to clarify your comments, Councilman Ross. I think for some of us in the audience, the comments you made about a "color blind" past came across as tone deaf at a minimum to experiences of people in color in Martinez that neither you nor I could ever understand. Just as for me as someone who is not Jewish, I could never truly understand what it is like to experience antisemitism through the lens of my own experiences, and if I were to comment on how well Jews and Gentiles got along during my youth, I'm guessing it wouldn't sit too well with people on the receiving end of antisemitism.
In any case, your comments did spark what I found to be a healthy, frank and necessary conversation about both how we view the past and deal with these issues in the present in a meaningful way.
This is not limited to Martinez, but in general, the lionization of the past by those of us who benefited most from the social structures of the past that benefited the interests and privileges of white people above everyone else makes it difficult to wrestle with these issues adequately in the present.
I've had my own blind spots in this area. As I said again last night to the school board in my comments about the flying of the Pride flag on school campuses, I largely overlooked issues of race and LGBTQ+ discrimination in my early years of advocacy on school safety matters. That was a reflection of my own white privilege, and a learning experience for myself.
Nevertheless, whether I agree or disagree with individual statements made by people at public meetings, I do my best in these posts to be fair and impartial in how I report what took place and to include all necessary context.
Well. I sat on a commission about 20+ years ago where Ross was on it also, regarding diversity. It went nowhere. We did a lot of work and we were never acknowledged. Annamarie was on it too. Nakenya has been fighting for this change for a long time. She had been ignored. Maybe, just maybe, things this time, will break the damn ice! Otherwise, Martinez, Contra Costa’s County Seat gets left by the wayside. The NAACP will contribute their words and actions, which they should.
My comments were intended to convey the gratitude I had for growing up in a racially diverse town, and the parts that were positive: the differences, the similarities, and how a number of us overcame the ingrained racial Martínez had, and still does.
How? By a supportive faculty at all levels of education that helped us see each other as equals ( it was the early 70’s in the Bay Area).
Included in this environment was seeing women as equals too ( which I alluded to in my comment).
But we weren’t stupid- the tension, racism and sexism outside the school biome was all too clear to us in the Class of ‘75 at Alhambra.
What was clear to me then and now it takes effort, brutal honesty, and humility to truly know each other and foster at least respect and tolerance for differences.
I took the opportunity to be positive and express gratitude for those that taught me the above virtues (respect and tolerance in the least)in a town that had plenty of examples to grow up otherwise.
Hopefully this commission will make progress in enabling the conversations and actions at the City governance level that foster the positive results in the community as my Martínez school teachers did for me and my world view of race and gender.
Thanks for taking the opportunity here to clarify your comments, Councilman Ross. I think for some of us in the audience, the comments you made about a "color blind" past came across as tone deaf at a minimum to experiences of people in color in Martinez that neither you nor I could ever understand. Just as for me as someone who is not Jewish, I could never truly understand what it is like to experience antisemitism through the lens of my own experiences, and if I were to comment on how well Jews and Gentiles got along during my youth, I'm guessing it wouldn't sit too well with people on the receiving end of antisemitism.
In any case, your comments did spark what I found to be a healthy, frank and necessary conversation about both how we view the past and deal with these issues in the present in a meaningful way.
This is not limited to Martinez, but in general, the lionization of the past by those of us who benefited most from the social structures of the past that benefited the interests and privileges of white people above everyone else makes it difficult to wrestle with these issues adequately in the present.
I've had my own blind spots in this area. As I said again last night to the school board in my comments about the flying of the Pride flag on school campuses, I largely overlooked issues of race and LGBTQ+ discrimination in my early years of advocacy on school safety matters. That was a reflection of my own white privilege, and a learning experience for myself.
Nevertheless, whether I agree or disagree with individual statements made by people at public meetings, I do my best in these posts to be fair and impartial in how I report what took place and to include all necessary context.
Well. I sat on a commission about 20+ years ago where Ross was on it also, regarding diversity. It went nowhere. We did a lot of work and we were never acknowledged. Annamarie was on it too. Nakenya has been fighting for this change for a long time. She had been ignored. Maybe, just maybe, things this time, will break the damn ice! Otherwise, Martinez, Contra Costa’s County Seat gets left by the wayside. The NAACP will contribute their words and actions, which they should.