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? <br /> There is a concern that we may not be welcoming to African-American <br />families when they come for the Olympic Trials. <br />? <br /> No one person is the spokesperson for any racial or ethnic group...each group <br />has many subcultures and differences within them. <br />? <br /> There is concern that Eugene will follow what happened in Portland where a <br />geographic split divided the city into a white town and town of color. <br />? <br /> There is concern about what the community attitude will be as the boomers <br />retire and more immigrants and people of color begin to fill the workforce. <br />? <br /> The power base is all white boomers so it’s hard for the young people of color <br />to connect to institutions. <br />? <br /> The Human Rights Commission role as it relates to the community is <br />unclear. <br />? <br /> Racism is like a disease, with an initial period of denial and folks afraid to <br />talk because their words may be misinterpreted. <br />? <br /> There is a delicacy about this topic: People want to speak honestly, but are <br />afraid they’ll be called ignorant or racist if they raise certain questions. <br />? <br /> These interviews with people of color make a good statement of the City’s <br />efforts. <br /> <br />Ideas and Solutions for Moving Forward <br /> <br />? <br /> There needs to be an admission of the problem and a genuine, concentrated <br />effort to address it. <br />? <br /> Whites must study their whiteness (including history, exclusionary practices, <br />institutionalize racism, etc.) as a prerequisite to understanding anything else <br />about race. <br />? <br /> Progress requires civic, government, and business leaders to commit to <br />authentic change and not lip service. <br />? <br /> All parties need to commit to a concrete course of action which yields <br />demonstrable, measurable results. <br />? <br /> Solutions need to deal with a fair process to access resources. <br />? <br /> Need to be sure employment opportunities are not set up for failure…need to <br />support job development and growth. <br />? <br /> Need to partner and share Fiesta Latina as a regional event. <br />? <br /> Need to be humble about thinking we know when we have achieved goals on <br />a racism-free city. <br />? <br /> Need to work on police/community relations and ensure profiling does not <br />occur. <br />? <br /> Publish hate crimes and incidents of racial profiling. Be more honest about <br />these issues. <br />? <br /> Need to put benchmarks in City supervisors’ and managers’ evaluations. <br />? <br /> Need to conduct exit interviews to identify problems. <br />? <br /> Need a diversity plan with recruitment benchmarks. The City should <br />provide leadership on this issue for other community institutions. <br />? <br /> Look at what the City Manager and department heads are doing and push <br />them to improve attitudes down to the line staff. <br /> 2 <br /> <br />