Snohomish council issues statement, has plans for town hall
SNOHOMISH — The City Council issued a statement against racism Thursday, June 4 and arranged two new committees to work toward healing issues from the events that took place on First Street Sunday, May 31.
The council not only heard every concern of the public but listened and released a Statement Against Racism on June 4.
“We hear you Snohomish. We heard the outpouring from your heart Tuesday night in the council meeting. We ache to hear the stories of racism in our town. We heard the fear and intimidation from our children, justifiably afraid at present to walk our downtown. We heard your anguish for our town. We heard your disappointment that Snohomish’s reputation was being harmed in this way.”
“We made a vow following that meeting to denounce racism, bigotry, and hate in all its forms and places, and respond to the outside forces of intimidation and menace that recently chose our downtown as a rallying point. They have no place in our town,” read a portion of the city’s statement.
Snohomish For Equity has vowed to work with the city to continue the conversation. The council selected Councilwoman Judith Kuleta as a liaison from the city. The city liaison will attend Snohomish For Equity board meetings and relay the information back to the council, said Snohomish For Equity member Teresa Rugg.
A second workgroup of three council members will work with merchants.
Rugg said the main goal is for the liaison to get to know the mission behind Snohomish For Equity.
“We are there to provide resources and education and be that place in the community that has relations with the school district, with faith leaders, and now hopefully merchants,” said Rugg
Snohomish For Equity has supported all peaceful protests in the city.
Residents expressed their immense frustration following the events that took place Sunday, May 31 in an online city council meeting that featured nearly three hours of public comment Tuesday, June 2 and another hour Thursday, June 4.
The entire Statement Against Racism is reprinted below:
We hear you Snohomish. We heard the outpouring from your heart Tuesday night in the council meeting. We ache to hear the stories of racism in our town.
Snohomish City Council
Statement Against Racism
We hear you Snohomish. We heard the outpouring from your heart Tuesday night in the council meeting. We ache to hear the stories of racism in our town. We heard the fear and intimidation from our children, justifiably afraid at present to walk our downtown. We heard your anguish for our town. We heard your disappointment that Snohomish’s reputation was being harmed in this way.
We made a vow following that meeting to denounce racism, bigotry, and hate in all its forms and places, and respond to the outside forces of intimidation and menace that recently chose our downtown as a rallying point. They have no place in our town.
We don’t yet know what all those actions will be - what actions we can take as a Council, and what actions will have to come through other means. There are no easy answers given current laws. We are open to your suggestions. We will be with and among you to hear your stories, to fully understand what you’ve experienced, and hear your ideas to begin addressing these problems. Because it’s not just a policy problem. These problems are embedded in our homes, in our schools, in our institutions, in ourselves. They need to be faced and addressed.
We are so impressed by the passion with which you spoke Tuesday night. The compelling stories that you told. We honor you for these insights, as we honor the work of Snohomish for Equity, the Snohomish Youth Council, and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that have gone forward peacefully during the past few days.
We stand by Resolution 1389. These are more than just words, they are a statement of intent and we will work with you to make them a reality.
Signed by:
Jason Sanders, Council President, Position 3
Donna Ray, Position 1
Judith Kuleta, Position 2
Tom Merrill, Position 4
Linda Redmon, Position 5
Larry Countryman, Position 6
Steve Dana, Position 7
