Civil rights advocates and Lacey Equity Commissioner Thelma Jackson said she was disappointed that no one from the Lacey City Council and the North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) Board attended the recently held Black and African American Community Forum.
Jackson aired her disappointment during the city’s Commission on Equity’s meeting on Monday where they discussed the community forum, adding that it was still a “tremendously successful” event.
“It was unfortunate that more elected people weren't there to deal with what the black citizens of Lacey had to say about living in the city and feeling included,” said Jackson. “I was disappointed from that point of view.”
Jackson added that since the issues discussed were not limited to the city concerns, she was also disappointed that no one from the administration of NTPS came to hear the concerns from the community.
Following Jackson’s comments, Lacey Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong noted that the Commission on Equity works as an advisory board to the council.
“They are allowing you to also work independently to bring back information to the council,” said Kelley-Fong.
Speaking from her own personal perspective and not on behalf of the council or the NTPS board, Commissioner and Vice Chair Annie Clay said she was also not sure if she should attend the forum as she wanted it to be a safe space for the Black Community.
“I wanted it to be super safe. No conflict, no idea of judgment,” said Clay. “I just wanted it to be your space.”
Commissioner Jonathan (Jon) Hegwood also aired the concerns of some LGTBQIA+ members on the choice of venue for the event, referencing the New Life Baptist Church’s “hostile language” on their website.
“The possibility of the venue being problematic, not because it's a church, but because of their explicitly anti-trans rhetoric,” said Hegwood, who identified himself as a queer person of color.
“Even as a commissioner, I can't say that I was not hesitant to go in the first place,” he added. “I can’t help but wonder how many queer people of color might have showed up if the venue that we used was less hostile.”
Jackson clarified that there are limited venues in the city and that the New Life Baptist Church and their belief had nothing to do with the event since it was neither a religious nor a secular [group] gathering.
The commissioners agreed that such discussions bring good dialogue for their continuous efforts with community engagement.
Commission on Equity Chair Cliff Brown said the event helped raise awareness of the commission’s existence and its roles and obligations to the city.
“It goes to the power of taking those types of forums to the community, versus asking them to come here,” said Brown. “More people are more comfortable being in a familiar environment.”
The Black and African American Community Forum held on March 21 was attended by approximately 50 community members. The next forum will tackle the concerns of LGBTQIA+ Community in May or June, but the commissioners have yet to identify the venue.
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Honestyandrealityguy
Reparations? Maybe; however, understand that the first slave owner was a black man, Anthony Johnson. He went to court for the right to own another individual, and won. A former indentured servant himself, he began selling slaves to his black friends, then expanded to the natives and the whites. It is estimated that about 15% of blacks had ancestors, subject to slavery. For instance, Obama's ancestors were slave owners.The north did away with slavery after about 10 years. When a white Republican freed the slaves, thousands of black families owned at least one slave and the natives owned tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of whites gave their lives defending repealing slavery in the Civil War.Slavery is wrong. I wonder if there would ever had been slavery in the USA without the first slave owner, Anthony Johnson, a black man. So, should the families of the whites who gave their lives get reparations? Or, is it time to move on?
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 Report this
Southsoundguy
How much longer are we going to take the abrasive, self-centered, atomizing people seriously? The mouth word “community” but their whole worldview, which is rooted in liberalism, is the prime driver of the destruction of our historical communities. This is being done to transform people into pure consumers that are wards of the state.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 Report this
JasonS
Anthony Johnson was not "the first slave owner," nor was his civil case victory in 1655 the first to codify lifetime servitude in the legal system of the Americas. A full 15 years before that, three indentured servants attempted to escape to Maryland from a different colony. When they were caught, the black man named John Punch was sentenced in July 1640 by the Virginia Governor's Council to serve as a slave for the remainder of his life to a white man named Hugh Gwyn, while the two white European men were not, thus establishing the first legal sanctioning of lifelong servitude or slavery in the Thirteen Colonies (and highlighting how the two races were treated inequitably).
Honestyandrealityguy, your argument is not only an example of an historical fallacy, but off-topic with regard to this article. I'll leave it to individual readers to question your reason for posting it here.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 Report this