Thread by @SarahMushMush

The City of Windsor met with Black leaders in June 2020 following BLM protests and promised ~some~ action. More than a year later, a proposed anti-racism initiative is going to Council tomorrow (on consent!) and well... I have thoughts. A thread: windsorstar.com/news/local-new…

1. This initiative was a result of advocacy from *Black* leaders yet you cannot tell from the proposal. There's little detail on what consulting with Black leaders/orgs looked like.

*You can read the proposal in the agenda for tomorrow. It is item 8.1: citywindsor.ca/cityhall/City-…

2. If, again, this was the result of advocacy from Black leaders, why did this initiative not follow a public bidding process? Why not give the opportunity for a Black community organization or Black-led consultant group to take the lead on this project?

3. The initiative proposes a public awareness campaign, story-telling and training. The Mayor acknowledges in the new article this won't ~fix~ racism. I agree. So why not spend time reviewing what the City itself can do instead of out-sourcing this work?

4. For example, the initial concern of BLM activists was with respect to the disproportionate use of force against Black people, and mainly Black men. That is not mentioned in this proposal at all. What is the City doing to review and address these concerns?

5. Also, part of the initiative involves asking community members and organizations to "take a pledge" to support inclusivity. With all due respect, what is that going to do without follow-up on changing systemic policies and gaps within said organizations that are problematic?

6. I also have concerns with the focus on diversity being implied as immigrant in this proposal. It glosses over the experience of historic Black residents (and Indigenous). There is overlap in what needs to be done for both but conflating the two can be problematic.

7. If you have time, I would encourage reading the survey results (page 35 onwards). It is... interesting to say the least. The survey is unsound (at best) with respect to its methodology and the majority of respondents did not watch or participate in the BLM roundtable (lol).

8. For example, this survey should have been a safe and confidential way for *Black* and racialized individuals to share their experiences with racism in Windsor. Yet in a response to q's on experiences with racism or next steps, these were some of the top answers:

9. This survey was disseminated for less than a month and had a low response rate with no details on respondents. There were odd q's (like asking what "non-people-of-colour" (lol) can ~do~) but also good feedback on City/police policies/practices which are not in the proposal.

10. Lastly, I'll just add there could be more information on how involved the City's Diversity Officer and Diversity Committee are with this proposal. What does their involvement look like and how can they be leveraged (resources?) to further support such initiatives?

11. Anyway, this goes to Council tomorrow and is on the *consent* agenda. There definitely should have been - and still can be - more opportunity for feedback if we want to seriously address anti-racism in the city - and especially within the Corporation of the City of Windsor.

My comments to council can be found here:

https://twitter.com/doug_sartori/status/1417149996718346240