HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-20 Public Comment - C. Whisman-Blair and R. Martin - Racism in BozemanFrom:Chris Mehl
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: Racism in Bozeman
Date:Wednesday, June 10, 2020 9:44:24 PM
Chris Mehl
Mayor, City of Bozemancmehl@bozeman.net406.581.4992________________________________________From: webadmin@bozeman.net [webadmin@bozeman.net]Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 9:11 PMTo: Chris MehlSubject: Racism in Bozeman
Message submitted from the <City Of Bozeman> website.
Site Visitor Name: Caroline Whisman-BlairSite Visitor Email: carolineblair85@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Mehl,
We feel proud to call Bozeman our home. Recently, we attended the black lives matter rally in Bozeman and want toexpress our gratitude for a peaceful rally. Law enforcement officers appeared relaxed and supportive.
We love our community and both work hard to support our community in different ways. We recognize that racismexists in our community and that black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) have different experiences as theymove through their lives in Bozeman than we do as white people. Racism dehumanizes us all and dismantlingracism heals us all.
We would like to ask how the leaders of the City of Bozeman plan to prioritize dismantling racism in Bozeman.Racism creates economic disparities, education disparities, disparities in safety and overall disparities inopportunity. The current economic realities in Bozeman create less opportunity for diversity here. We have abeautiful community that struggles to offer affordable housing and economic opportunities for black, indigenous andpeople of color (BIPOC). We recognize that the challenges of economic disparity impact white people as well, butBIPOC are disproportionately impacted.
As home owners and residents in Bozeman we would like to request that dismantling racism in Bozeman beprioritized. We hope to be a part of any solutions in our community in dismantling so that BIPOC experience equityhere.
Sincerely,
Caroline Whisman-Blair and Robert Martin