Race/Class/Gender Team Meeting Notes, 10.1

Meeting Notes
Race/Class/Gender Team, 0ct.1st

Present: Ted Quant, Lance Hill, Michael Kane, Michael Wong, Kirwan, Aaron Schneider, Rebeca Zuniga, Khalil Shahyd, Breonne DeDecker

How are we defining citizen in this process? Citizen is a loaded word and might discourage people who are not citizens of this country think they are not able to participate.

Currently we are defining it as anyone who lives or works within Orleans parish. However, if we focus only on people within the geographic location of New Orleans as being able to participate, then we might exclude the diaspora and individuals who want to come back and want to affect the program but currently cannot.

Big questions: Who participates? Who is legitimate? How do we address low participation from certain groups/communities?

It is key to also address group identities as well as geographic (neighborhood) identities. So that there is not only space for neighborhoods to talk about their priorities, but groups such as women to also have space to address their specific priorities. So representation should be geographic, thematic, and identity based. Questions, though: how do you call a meeting for these groups, how to you determine a successful meeting, and how to you aggregate votes/opinions for recommendations? What is the theoretical change that we are pushing for, and how do we know when it is successful?

We also need to determine what is dividing the communities of New Orleans right now and how to enter into constructive dialog about them. Also: how do we bridge education gaps to produce worthwhile participation? Important to show that this process is not just a rubber stamp of participation to legitimize decisions that have already been made but a worthwhile process for community engagement.

Also important to note that it is impossible to get everyone to participate so you much construct a mechanism of sorts that will take everyone into account- present or not. Important to instill empathy and interest of other’s opinions and views into the process. Perhaps there can be some sort of training prior to participation? Important to challenge the power conversation and recognize power differences. Also, think about diversity and what it means to different communities: is diversity encouraged out of interest in other communities, or is it to receive public services that are not readily available within certain communities, or is it done to try and change the other into something better? Means different things to different people.

Conversation about race is going to be difficult, partially because we are working with a 50yr old definition of what racism is. It really seems to be no longer about dislike, but about disinterest and neglect- perceiving that some communities have an absence of value.

Marching Orders:
Review the 2004 draft model and think about it in terms of race/class/gender issues.
Starting thinking about arguments for why the issues being raised in this team are important: why should we have a loose definition of citizen? Why should we strive to include group identities? How do we help create constructive conversations that do not alienate individuals who are participating? Etc.
Crystallize the key points to create the “prism” through this program will be viewed by the participants.
Come up with 3 or 4 main statements for the basis of the next discussion.