First, a thanks to Pam Taylor for sharing her personal experience to the 800+ people on the list (and also a congrats to the Bucs).
Mr. Mork's response is unfortunately typical of many folks I've run across. In my talks with all sorts of people on this issue, there are several key and repeated comments: 1. Neighborhood groups do not get the support and/or ideas from NRP Central as to how to be more inclusive and to provide greater outreach efforts; 2. Some neighborhood groups don't particularly try--some deliberately, some out of pure naivete-- to embrace inclusivity concepts except to do an occasional translation or to simply invite everyone and hope a diverse population shows up (i.e., Mr. Mork's experience) 3. Making NRP more inclusive at the neighborhood level is hard street-level work, relying on a background of trust built over months, but it is nevertheless essential work. Some groups have yet to build that background of trust and, therefore, have months if not years of hard work ahead if NRP is to change. The change, however, must come from NRP Central and it must be an embraced and supported project. Right now, the message I see from NRP Central is a message solely of money, not programming, and unfortunately we're at a stage now that it would be better to take this critical time to relook at Phase I and look at programming issues and NRP's overall purpose, rather than making the cry of NRP solely about money. A cry solely about money ignores the flaws of NRP currently and sidetracks essential debate about its real future and the future of neighborhood-based planning. The suggestions/recommendations from the Tenant Issues Working Group, quoted by Pauline Thomas in her editorial, are sound and doable suggestions and take into account the notion that inclusivity must be a program-wide commitment and obligation, not one handed to the neighborhoods without proper support. Thus, we call for the creation of an NRP funded and implemented Community Outreach and Participation Team that does a number of things, including reviewing neighborhood plans for inclusivity issues and developing strategies for neighborhoods to use for increasing participation from groups largely left out of the NRP process. Rather than bemoan the problem, we've offered suggestions. Rather than rant and rave, we've studied and recommended. I would like to see the same from people who are critical of this call for change, rather than quick dismissals based on ideology or, actually, nothing in particular. Gregory Luce Project 504/Minneapolis St. Paul Jim Mork wrote: > Subject: [Mpls] Housing and NRP Reform Proposals > In short, less militant rhetoric, more practical talk, would > be welcome. I've gone to the meetings here in Longfellow, and > we're lucky if ONE minority shows up who can be DRAFTED to > represent the whole community. The problem we seem to have > is a Catch-22 that if the membership is overwhelmingly white, > it therefore loses its interest to non-whites. > Pam Taylor wrote: > You just named a reason why no minority would show up. If I > came to a meeting and you decided that I should be drafted to > represent the WHOLE African American community, it would > prove that you had one heck of a lot of nerve. We don't all > look alike nor do we all think alike. I would be there > representing my own views. If you want to know what we ALL > think, go do a qualified survey. Think about it. If all it > takes is one individual to represent a whole community, than > there would be no need for YOU to show up. They can just > bring in one of your race, and let that individual speak for > all of you. Sounds ludicrous, now doesn't it? Unfortunately, > this is how a lot of people want to think about and classify > us. And, if the truth be told, if a bunch of us showed up > with intelligent contributions, we would scare the pants off > some people. Even in this day and time, EDUCATED minorities > threaten the status quo. The ugliness of segregation is > advancing like a film of pre civil rights demonstrations up > the legs of our American flag. As a NRP rep, a majority of my > neighborhoods were northeast ones. One group attempted to > put together a housing plan that basically redlined > minorities. I told them that I would not, in good conscience, > help push that plan forward. They went back to the drawing > board to start over. Another entity wanted me fired. Not > for not doing my job, because I was doing it well, but > because of my color. My boss, Mr. Miller confirmed this. I > must say, > also, that this was the old guard; the younger members (30's > - 40's) thought I was doing excellent. The older group put > out untrue statements in regard to my performance. They were > great friends with the then councilperson, who supported > their unprofessional behavior. To keep peace, Mr. Miller had > decided to move me to another neighborhood. I let it be known > that if that were to occur that I would be suing that group > for defamation of my character. If I had to, I would have > sued NRP for helping contribute to that by their compliance. > Needless to say, I was NOT moved. I had on my desk the next > morning a bouquet of flowers from the group to let me know > how much they appreciated me. They were from the younger > group. The older group merely tolerated me after that. Now I > merely worked in the neighborhood. I let them know that > while I cared about the work I was doing, and I advocated on > their behalf, when I went home, I left their problems at the > door. Think how hard it is, however, as a minority person, > trying to be involved in their own neighborhood with > attitudes like this. And, while I do not profess this to be > the reality of all neighborhoods, nor everyone's experience, > the attitude of feeling of being unwelcome is prevalent. > TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
