Item C: City Council Priority Issue - Communities of Color Meeting Debrief

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Another said the deficit model is used here. Another said kids get beat up and folks look the other way; kids who do such things should be held accountable. Another said the city currently acts like race issues doesn’t exist and people are perceived as individual trouble makers. But it’s obvious when we’re all sharing this information that this is not imaginary. She felt like folks are portrayed as liars. When she was Executive Director at Centro Latino Americano, people all looked like her and she didn’t have to explain herself. Now it’s difficult for her to be herself. She said her 6 year old daughter refuses to speak Spanish in her household where her grandmother only speaks Spanish. People are expected to assimilate here. Diversity plans in organizations need to be taken seriously. 4J School District has no diversity plan; Springfield School District, Bethel School District, UO are taking a shot at it. She loves this community but it doesn’t feel like the best place for her children and she needs to protect them. Sometimes she doesn’t want to be around white people anymore for fear of being smacked in the face and sometimes she doesn’t want to educate people anymore. Another suggested that Lane County be involved in the process. A holistic approach is needed between the county, the city, the City Club, etc. People are aware that the Latino population is growing, but other populations are growing as well. People get categorized. In the last six months, he has been on six committees at UO had has been the only person of color on each. He can’t speak for all people who are Latino, let alone all people of color. He said this type of workshop is good, but when he leaves through these doors he has to put his shields back up and be alert. This community is following the feeling across the nation that people of color shouldn’t be here. Children of color have to be prepared to deal with this as well. Another said she would like people to consider people of color on a full-time basis, not just on a part-time basis, and that opinions from people of color should be valued on the same scale as other opinions, and not as less important than other issues. Growth, education of people of color seen as a problem, threat; people of color are not the problem. Another said he earned his Ph.D. last year. A person honored for helping students of color was told the only reason she is liked is because she writes the dissertations for students of color, insinuating that they can’t do it themselves. The implication is that a student of color gets an A or a job only because of minority status. Another said she moved back to Eugene in 2004 to help with race issues. She is hoping to find a job soon. Experiences make her sad. She lives next to a Korean family that is being harassed. She shared this info with Councilor Papé after learning of it. She says she saw a confederate flag sticker on a neighbor’s car. Most neighbors are European American. Communities of Color 21 July 12, 2006