Scott Aust, Journal staff | Posted: Friday, September 7, 2007 11:00 pm
|
RAPID CITY - By the end of the year, new Rapid
City Mayor Alan Hanks wants to turn the focus of the Undoing Racism
Task Force more toward taking action.
"I think it was a good first step in
identifying issues and identifying some of the feelings in the
community. I think we need to take it to the next level … by
starting to identify action plans and setting goals," Hanks
said.
With the help of community leaders, Hanks wants
to review the task force's effectiveness and determine if it needs
to be restructured. The next step, Hanks believes, is to identify
specific issues, develop an action plan and create a timeline to
address them.
"If there is a perception in the community that
we have issues dealing with racism, then we have a problem," he
said.
Former Mayor Jim Shaw believes the Undoing
Racism Task Force, a committee formed in 2000, helped open a
valuable and important dialog between different segments of the
community.
Shaw said that although race relations have
improved, he believes groups that allow people to come together and
talk about issues and solutions are still needed.
"It's really not a job that has a complete end
to it. I think it's something that builds momentum and hopefully
continues to go with the goodwill of people involved," he
said.
As a private citizen now, Shaw intends to keep
working with others to establish a sister city concept with Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation and has also has thought about creating a
human relations commission.
Similar to the Community Relations Council, a
committee that deals mainly with police issues, Shaw envisions the
Human Relations Council having a wider focus to deal with
allegations of discrimination in the workplace, housing and
business practices.
Alderman Lloyd LaCroix agrees that the Undoing
Racism Task Force, or a similar type of city group, is still
necessary.
LaCroix said that growing up as a mixed race
person sometimes made life difficult. He said that he was often
perceived as not white enough or Native American enough to belong
with either group.
But LaCroix believes conditions have improved
since and that the cultures have changed.
"I think we've gotten a lot better," he
said.
LaCroix said he doesn't experience much racism
now, but he added that it depends on what is defined as racist. He
said some people say things to him as jokes that he doesn't take
seriously but others might find offensive.
"I guess I've gotten so used to some remarks
that I don't take them so seriously because I know how they're
coming. Nobody's really said something to me totally seriously to
where I took it seriously. I could tell they were joking," he said.
"As far as racism or being held back by being Indian, and that's
what I would take that as, I don't think I have."
Laurette Pourier, director of SANI-T, or
Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today, said the
Undoing Racism Task Force was largely ineffective because it
offered no proactive solutions.
It may have helped raise the awareness of those
in denial about race as an issue in Rapid City, but Pourier said
that people who truly need cultural awareness often didn't show up
to those meetings.
Pourier hopes Hanks follows through and becomes
more proactive on racial issues, but she admits to being skeptical.
Still, she indicated she's willing to give the mayor the benefit of
the doubt right now.
Hanks has lived in Rapid City since he was 9
years old. He said he hasn't seen as much blatant racism now as he
did when he was younger, but he hears the underlying tone in the
community that people are still being treated differently because
of skin color.
Considering that Native Americans account for
12 percent to 15 percent of the city's population, Hanks said, it
is very important they feel they have a future here, an opportunity
like anyone else to get a good paying job, have a nice home and
provide for their families.
Hanks said racism probably won't ever be
eliminated completely but that all people need to be perceived as
capable human beings with potential. Overall, he believes race
relations are better today than they were 25 years ago but that
there is still work to do.
"I'm hoping they're better than five years ago,
but are we to the point where we should be satisfied? Absolutely
not," he said. "It's time to start moving forward."
Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or
scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com
