I apologize for not keeping up with this thread and have not had the chance
to go back and reread all the posts in this thread. Frankly, there have
been other things occupying me over the last several days.
I am not a spokesperson for the Mayor (as some folks seem to think) but I
have not heard any "white supremist" talk from the Mayor's campaign or her
office in any shape or form.
I can comment a little bit on this issue from my own personal perspective,
however. I think that Minneapolitans are not monolithic in their views
about race.
I think for some Minneapolitans, race truly isn't a issue. They truly don't
care about the race of an individual and this does not enter into their
decisions.
I think for some Minneapolitans, diversity in our elected officials is
important because we are stronger because of the different perspectives and
experiences represented. Many Minneapolitans believe that it is important
to elect people who have experienced discrimination and oppression because
they are best able to understand the ways of fighting it. Especially in a
city that is only 65% white, with a minority population that is
disproportionately poor and disenfranchised. For these folks, voting for
someone who is a minority race is preferable. Some people would call this
racism, however.
Some Minneapolitans are out and out blatantly racist. I can tell you that
the Mayor's Office has gotten some of the vilest racists stuff beyond what
you can imagine. And threats of violence. But the number of people in this
camp, in my mind, is very small.
Some Minneapolitans are much more subtle in their racism, people who
wouldn't label themselves racist but when you step back and examine their
outcomes, you have to come to that conclusion. For example, I think much of
the linkage between Brian Herron and Belton was about racism and have said
so repeatedly. No one blamed Jackie Cherryhomes, the council president.
No one blamed Jim Niland, the council member who's ward was right next to
Herron's and with whom Herron worked most closely with. No, the person who
got all the blame was the one with the same skin color as Herron's.
Coincidence or racism? For every person who linked Belton to Herron in
their minds, I would have you ask yourself why you didn't link Herron to
these other individuals who would have worked much more closely with him.
Was race part of that?
For people who are white, I don't think most really have a real appreciation
of the subtle racism that exists in our society. I don't think it is the
things like the KKK that make the minority communities crazy. I think it is
the day-to-day unrelenting disenfranchisement. Of not getting a job you are
qualified for. Of getting the worst table in a restaurant time after time
after time. Of having people talk around you instead of to you. I would
invite people of color on this list to speak about this in their own lives.
I would also say that I have found it very disconcerting in this election to
have a group of people wrapping themselves in the rubric of
"progressivism," which is suppose to mean working to defend the poor and the
disenfranchised (note, I am not talking about the Progressive or Green
Parties here) and finding that they are running solely white (and male)
candidates. And running them against candidates who are women and people of
color. Coincidence or discrimination? If you are a political group in a
city which is 35% people of color and 50.2 % female and all your candidates
are white men, I think you have to ask the question about discrimination.
I do believe that racism exists in our city and does play a part in every
election. I wish it didn't. But I have to be a realist and admit to its
impact in the world I live in.
Carol Becker
Longfellow
----- Original Message -----
From: j harmon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Re: Our relationship to the Sayes-Belton Campaign
> This entire thread is pathetic, but I have to ask; can any of you
political
> experts out there explain to me how the mayor managed to squeeze two terms
> out of such a racist city? Or is the insinuation that the voters in this
> particular primary are racist?
> Mr al Kabir? Ms. Becker?
> JHarmon
> Cleveland
>
>
> >From: M A <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >To: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Subject: [Mpls] Re: Our relationship to the Sayes-Belton Campaign
> >Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 00:17:51 -0500
> >
> >We have no official or unoffical relationship with the Sayes-Belton
> >Campaign.
> >As to the issue of "White Supremacy",we shall release to the public our
> >Civil Rights complaint against the R T Rabek operation and others.
> >
> >m a al-Kabir
> >Uptown
> >
> >What is all this "white supremacy" garbage coming out of the mayor's
> >office all of a sudden?
> >
> >Aside from Larry Leininger, the mayoral candidate who IS a white
> >supremacist, who are these other "white supremacists" her self-styled
> >spokespeople are referring to--Rybak supporters, like me?
> >
> >Did Sharon not get a faxed invitation from me to the YWCA's "Wake Up
> >Minnesota" rally at the capitol in response to the Klan's presence?
> >
> >Did she not garner my vote twice?
> >
> >Was I not once an ardent supporter of her as well as of Brian Herron?
> >
> >Has it not been both black and white people busting their butts for
> >Brother Shane's and Natalie Johnson Lee's campaigns, and signing up
> >scores of new voters in North Minneapolis?
> >
> >For the record, when I worked in City Hall day after day I saw a lot of
> >black people in the mayor's office, furious with her and demanding to
> >see her.
> >
> >I certainly think it is racist to accuse anyone who doesn't vote for the
> >incumbent of being a "white supremacist." (As if the black citizens of
> >Minneapolis are monolithic and all psychically connected, not
> >individuals with individual minds--what an insult!)
> >
> >Just who is a "white supremacist?" Just what, in the context of the
> >mayoral campaign, is "white supremacy," and how is another Sharon term
> >going to make any difference that it hasn't made before?
> >
> >I don't see any connection between the terrorism in New York and D.C.,
> >and the mayoral race in Minneapolis!
> >
> >If Sharon is indeed making these statements she had better justify them,
> >and if people are speaking for her out of turn, she had better put a
> >stop to it. This is beyond anything I would have expected from her
> >office. This is truly unconscionable.
> >
> >Kristine Harley
> >Sheridan Neighborhood
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