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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 10 1 Mayor Stille closed the public input. He asked the City Council for discussion or a motion to 2 approve or deny the request. 3 4 Councilmember Randle applauded the work that Semhar Solomon has been doing but he did not 5 agree with the mural. He has heard many people say that this will bring the community closer 6 together, but he did not think so. He thought it would divide the community. He has heard the 7 residents and people who have spoken at the meeting but he also represents St. Anthony as a 8 whole and he has heard from a lot of other residents who have chosen not to speak in public, 9 probably for the same reason that the gentleman spoke of, afraid of repercussions or being 10 bashed or whatever on social media. He indicated he is not on social media, so he did not know 11 the extent of it, only about what people hear. He did not believe it would bring them together. 12 He is open for some type of compromise and was willing to work with the community to do 13 something as a community as a whole. He did not believe this is the way to do it and once the 14 door is opened there will be unattended consequences behind it and there will be requests for 15 other murals and where will the line be drawn so he will not be in favor of the mural and he is 16 also not pleased about the location of it. He did not think anyone in that Police Department need 17 reminding what happened four years ago. The Police Department has made major strides since 18 then. We are quick to pounce on them when something is wrong, but we never give them their 19 due diligence for protecting us and making the changes they have made. He stated he just does 20 not reach out and talk to white people, he also reaches out and talks to people of color to get their 21 opinions on this. Other people need to be able to have open dialogue and open discussion 22 without feeling like they are under attack. He was open for suggestions and discussion in the 23 future. 24 25 Councilmember Walker thought it was good there was diversity on the Council, and he would 26 say he would have to disagree to previous comments. They should not get lost in rhetoric. There 27 is a term called confirmation bias where the evidence you look for is confirming what you 28 already want to believe is the case. There is a lot of rhetoric out there. The comment regarding 29 Black Lives Matter is divisive and is dangerous, that is more rhetoric than substance. When 30 someone says they do not like the term, that offends him because he is black, and his life does 31 matter. It is a matter of logic and it puzzles him that people do not see the importance of the 32 distinction made. He was puzzled why people will say All Lives Matter but refuse to say Black 33 Lives Matter, it is a matter of pure logic. He indicated they can get together and have meals 34 together, but it should not be reactionary, it should be just a given and should not be the result of 35 having someone be shot by a Police Officer or a matter or racism. He stated there are Black 36 Lives Matter individuals who are in the movement, he is not in the movement but definitely 37 stand for the statement and is definitely open to interaction. He explained some believe that 38 mural would be divisive and cause division, who is causing the division, those who are the 39 creators of the mural or those who are opposing the mural. Restricting smokers from public 40 buildings was divisive, wearing seatbelts was divisive. The Civil Rights Movement was often 41 called divisive and the leaders were called agitators. He was puzzled that when a mural is being 42 proposed that same rhetoric is being used again. On a grand scale, so was slavery divisive and it 43 split the Union. No one fighting for justice would suggest that addressing slavery should be 44 forbidden or not discussed because it divides the Union. It goes without saying that pretty much 45 any call to justice will leave those not interested in justice to oppose it, thus causing division. 46 10