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