HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-28-20 Public Comment - R. Dunn - Anti-racism planFrom:Rylee Dunn
To:Agenda
Subject:Public Comment — Monday, July 27
Date:Monday, July 27, 2020 8:05:08 PM
To whom it may concern,
Hello, my name is Rylee Dunn and I reside at 1619 Willow Way here in Bozeman. I am a student at Montana State
University, and I am writing you this evening in response to the anti-racism plan being discussed through public
comment.
From what I’ve gathered from reading the memorandum, it offers positive steps in the right direction, but it does not
do enough to offer any explicit solutions. Namely, I would like to point out two issues that I see: a lack of
consultation of the BIPOC community, and the adoption of Campaign Zero’s “8 Can’t Wait” reform strategy.
Rather than asking the Bozeman community at large to adapt to band-aid solution, we need to deeply modify the
systems already in place. However, it should be addressed that modification must come from directly consulting the
Bozeman community — especially when discrimination and diversity are the main talking points, it is imperative
that the BIPOC community is the driving source of critique. They are the only people who can accurately and
adequately speak to the struggles that minorities face in the community, especially by the hands of the police. I
recognize that the efforts that the Bozeman PD and greater City Commission proposed are great steps forward, but
they are not enough to fully address the very real issues of racism present in our country and, more directly, our
Bozeman community. A national issue is a local issue, and we need to serve as a positive model for our neighbors
and the rest of our country.
Campaign Zero’s “8 Can’t Wait” goals served a purpose to seek out improved measures, but have been shown not to
act as a full solution. The reform strategy proposed by Campaign Zero has received a great deal of scrutiny for its
near-sighted results. Reform in this case offers a mere band-aid to deeply embedded wounds in our justice system,
and I would encourage the committee to seek out voices of the BIPOC community if our city would like to see truly
positive and effective action take place. Since the creation of “8 Can’t Wait” Campaign Zero has since apologized
for their proposal of instilling the idea that this reform strategy is enough to cause drastic and necessary change, and
that should be taken into careful consideration before finalizing any reformative measures to the police department.
The Bozeman community must go further, as Campaign Zero would agree, to ensure that each and every member of
the Bozeman community — and the state of Montana — feels safe, welcome and represented.
Thank you for your time,
Rylee Dunn