We have a choice. My alder report on racial justice in Fitchburg.

The Fitchburg Common Council has a choice. We can address racial inequities in our city or we can stand idly by. I hope our mayor's statement was not empty words, but instead a commitment to shape a budget that demonstrates that racial justice is a priority for us. I will be watching.

Transcript

Lastly and most importantly, I want to talk a little bit about what I consider the choice ahead of us as a council in regards to racial justice. Racism is a problem that permeates through our country’s policies and institutions. Black Americans and other Americans of color face institutional oppressions. White Americans, like myself, must acknowledge systemic racism, and how we benefit from unequal systems and white-dominant culture even if we don’t hold personal racist beliefs. We have to actively choose to practice anti-racism, and if we don’t, then we are complicit in that racist system. The murder of George Floyd and so many other black Americans at the hands of law enforcement is an absolute tragic injustice and it’s just one of many horrific outcomes of systemic racism in our country.

I want to read a quote from the mayor’s statement, “The Fitchburg City Council joins me in condemning the actions of individuals throughout the country against people of color, especially the African American community.” This quote for me, it misses the mark in a way... Obviously there is individual racism, but what we’re talking about now is not about individual action, it’s about systems of oppression. The racism that permeates throughout our institutions.

And I think we need to be very clear that city governments have been complicit in institutional racial oppression throughout history in a very significant way. So we talk a lot about policing right now, but that also includes housing and zoning, environmental policy, transportation, employment, diversity and representation on city committees and elected office. And sometimes it’s even a matter of symbolic action. So one thing we could have considered for this month but wasn’t brought up, we could have declared Junteenth an official holiday in the city of Fitchburg, which is coming up on June 19. And if you don’t know what Junteenth is, I recommend that you google it.

That’s all to say that we have power to make change in this way.

Once again, I want to read from the Mayor’s statement: “Fitchburg will be better and we will lead the fight against systems of oppression.” This is something that I strongly agree with. And it really leads me to a question for the mayor, the council as a whole, city staff, citizens of Fitchburg-

What do we value?

I ran for council because I want to make people’s lives better and I want to make sure Fitchburg is a city for everyone. That’s something that drives me, and that’s what I’m thinking about when I create policy and decisions. That includes addressing unequal and racist policies and practices that exist in Fitchburg. And we can talk about things that go well. And I think we should acknowledge things that we do well, but it’s incumbent upon us to keep moving forward and not just pat ourselves on the back for one good move.

I want to ask all of you these questions to consider, rhetorical questions.

Is racial justice a priority for you?

Are we making people’s lives better?

Whose lives are we making better?

How will we build a budget and policy that reflects that commitment?

I’m really looking forward to the budget process in September because that’s going to be our opportunity to have that conversation about what we value, and how we reflect those values in our budget and priorities, openly, transparently in public view.

Mayor Richardson, I’m curious if what you said in your statement will be reflected in your initial budget proposal.

I will be thinking on this. And I hope that all of us will continue thinking about this as we move forward. I encourage Fitchburg citizens to pay attention to what’s happening on council, continue to protest and make your voices heard. And I want to say that I am so grateful that those protests and those voices have given me the opportunity to listen and take action. I really take that to heart. Thank you. That is all for now.