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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 8 1 of discussion for people and he started to see what the challenges really were and why people are 2 so angry. He indicated he needs this mural to remind him of the challenges and anger of the 3 colored people and that there is racial injustice in the world. He urged the mural to be 4 commissioned and painted. 5 6 Ms. Sandi Sherman indicated she sent an email but needed to comment. She listened to Mr. 7 Casey's reference to the Ordinance which he felt would preclude this mural and she thought it 8 was a big stretch because no one is donating money or asking for something to be renamed. The 9 community is asking for a piece of art that reflects something that happened to and in the 10 community to be put up as a way to acknowledge, memorialize and as a way to heal. 11 12 Mr. James Wald, 3024 Harding Street, voiced his support for the mural in remembrance of 13 Philando Castile on the wall of City Hall. He asked what tangible steps the City has taken since 14 this atrocity to combat the crippling effects of systematic racism and police injustice. As a 15 community they must set the standard for rectifying our inequities of the past. We must hold the 16 community members, our representatives and most of all our Police Officers accountable for 17 what they have done. What better way to start this than painting a beautiful mural to remember 18 the life of Philando Castile. A mural like this does not have a political agenda. A mural like this 19 does not breed hate or division, what a mural like this does do is let every single person in this 20 community know that as a City we will not sit back and allow racism to fester. As a City we will 21 value the voices of people of color just as much as we do their white counterparts. Every single 22 day our officers will drive into the station and see the smiling face of Philando Castile. His smile 23 will not be a smile of condemnation but rather a smile that reminds them that they have to be 24 better. That every day they must vow to search each and every member of this community with 25 quality and grace, regardless of the color of their skin. 26 27 Mr. Randy Anderson, 3604 33rd Avenue, stated he hears of the passion expressed and he can feel 28 the concern which is wonderful. There are probably, however, many individuals within the City 29 of St. Anthony who may not see it the same way. They may feel that having a mural is not a 30 source of unity in the community but instead causing more disunity and uncomfortableness. 31 Promotion of values that they may not agree with such as a support for maybe, Black Lives 32 Matter, which whether you personally express a confidence and good feeling towards Black 33 Lives Matter, as far as maybe fifty percent of the American people, and who knows how many 34 within the community, they are not as comfortable with Black Lives Matter. Either with the 35 philosophy behind it, those who represent it, the damage that has resulted because of it and so to 36 some degree then having a mural may not be a unifying, helpful, healing process that we would 37 like to have and maybe the better healing process comes from each of us enjoying each other, 38 getting to know each other and experiencing life together and really respecting each other at a 39 deeper level than merely saying that we respect each other or that something will help the 40 community experience the unity and we may find out that it is really not helping to bring greater 41 unity but maybe uncomfortableness. He explained there were a number of people in St. 42 Anthony, who when the people came down 33rd and saw people carrying AK47's did not feel 43 very comfortable about that march through there even though it was peaceful but never the less, 44 there may be a lot of people within the community who are not encouraged by a mural but may 45 feel very sad to have a mural. Some people have different opinions that this audience may not 46 agree with and everybody is free to have their opinion and to encourage others to see their