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Mounds View City Council July 8, 2024 <br />Regular Meeting Page 5 <br /> <br />Mayor Lindstrom read a portion of the Ordinance aloud for the record and stated he was proud of <br />the great work the City was doing to address racial covenants. He stated he did not want to see <br />Mounds View or any other community taking a step backwards. <br /> <br />Mayor Lindstrom opened the meeting for public comment. <br /> <br />Rene Johnson, 7385 Pleasant View Drive, explained she and her husband supported this <br />Resolution. She discussed her journey with Mapping Prejudice and reported having their racial <br />covenants discharged. She commented on the power of words, how they can hurt or they heal. She <br />hoped to set a strong example in this community for her family as she wanted everyone to be <br />treated with kindness and respect. She thanked the City Council and staff members for all of their <br />efforts to address this matter. She urged those who received a letter from staff to have their racial <br />covenants discharged. <br /> <br />Joyce Jones-Strait, 7728 Knollwood Drive, spoke to the Council regarding racial covenant <br />language. She thanked the Mayor for his work to have the racial covenants on City-owned <br />properties discharged. She explained her property did not have racial covenant in place but when <br />reviewing the map of Mounds View, she learned that many of her neighbors did. She encouraged <br />her neighbors to have these covenants discharged, even though they were not enforceable, because <br />it was the right thing to do to dismantle the hate that was perpetuated by former systems. It was <br />her hope Mounds View would be a beloved co mmunity that brings justice to this issue. <br /> <br />Dr. Jean Strait, 7728 Knollwood Drive, explained she supported the discharging of racial <br />covenants on all properties in Mounds View. She stated she was a Hamline University Professor <br />and wrote the first ever Truth and Racial Healing Grant which created the Truth, Racial Healing <br />and Transformation Center at Hamline University. She discussed how removing racial covenants <br />was one way to dismantle systemic injustice and wanted Mounds View to lead by example. She <br />reported after first reviewing the map for Mounds View, she was shocked to see how many <br />properties had racial covenants in place. She indicated these covenants were felt as racist <br />discriminatory language of exclusion. She urged all residents of Mounds View to have their <br />covenants discharged in order to assist in creating an inclusive community for all. <br /> <br />Andre Koen, 7951 Greenwood Drive, stated he was proud of this community and the City Council <br />for stepping up and defending liberty and freedom through action. He understood freedom was not <br />free. He explained the cost for freedom was action and he was proud of his community. <br /> <br />Timothy David Wood, 2501 Sherwood Road, reported he has a degree in sociology and he <br />sometimes felt that racism didn’t necessarily impact him. He stated it wasn’t until he learned about <br />other ways discrimination impacted him or other people that he became more aware. He <br />commented on the time he spent studying abroad in Ireland and how important religion was to <br />those in that country. He discussed how things have been given or handed to him because of the <br />color of his skin. He explained he tried to consider how a black man would feel walking into <br />similar situations as him. He stated he completely supported the City approving the discharging <br />of racial covenants in the City of Mounds View. <br /> <br />Bob King, 7408 Silver Lake Road, noted he had a covenant on his property. He explained he was