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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-09-14Clarftwn Clarington Anti -Black Racism Subcommittee Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 6:00 PM Microsoft Teams If this information is required in an alternate format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext 2131 Present: Councillor Ron Hooper (until 7:00 p.m.) Jasmyne Julien Meera McDonald Lauren Reyes -Grange (until 7:20 p.m.) Rochelle Thomas Angela Todd -Anderson Also Present: Erica Mittag - Municipality of Clarington Regrets: Hawa Mire Rachel Traore Samantha Aitken - Clarington Public Library 1. Land Acknowledgement Rochelle shared Clarington's Land Acknowledgement Statement. 2. Review of Agenda - Declarations of Interest Members were asked if they would like to declare any items of interest. No concerns were shared. 3. Review Previous Meeting Members reviewed the key discussion point from the June 22, 2022, meeting. 4. Clarington Community Safety Advisory Council Jasmyne shared that the Community Safety Council met in late June. They reviewed traffic safety which has been an ongoing concern. Strategies to ensure road safety in Clarington and Durham Region were discussed. A representative attended the meeting to discuss the School Liaison Officer position and ways to make it more engaging through extracurricular activities, diversion strategies. Jasmyne is going to inquire about practices to ensure bias is not a factor The Community Safety Advisory Council meeting is September 29, 2022. 5. Racism in Clarington Concerns about increase in racism incidents in Clarington. Racist graffiti was found at Bowmanville High School. Members discussed possible steps to take. Some thoughts were: • Including a member of DRPS on Subcommittee to hear these concerns • More presence in schools. Work with local school Principals • More user-friendly space on website; access to information; Anti -Racism page on Clarington • More events and awareness • Share resources for ground -level support to those experiencing racism, i.e. a flow chart of resources and house on website • More representation on Subcommittee; how do we recruit members? Social Media / Online Presence — How does the subcommittee represent itself? Website is intimidating, can a microsite for anti -racism be developed? Erica to meet with Communications to discuss possibilities 6. Other Business Subcommittee Discussion — Members felt more autonomy would be good to advance their work. Would they evolve to an Anti -Racism Task Force? Concern more formalization would not be inclusive. Consistency allows for continuance to work on what they have started. Increased accountability, increased authority. Erica to follow up with Clerks about subcommittee — terms of reference, voting rights Black History Month — initial ideas were discussed for activities to recognize Black History Month: • Involve schools • Library — invites to schools / students / teachers / parents / caregivers • Who is our Audience? • Partner with an organization to offer a community event Angela, Lauren, and Erica will form a working group and will meet offline to discuss plans. Will share back with Subcommittee for input Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Next meeting: Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 6:00 p.m.