As We Move Forward

Hi Everyone,

A lot has happened in a short period of time. There's been a deep shift in perspective across the country. Regardless of where you stand today, chances are you are at a different place than you were three weeks ago.

Serious discussions about real change are taking place, and that's a good thing. 

For too long we get to these moments, the moment passes, and nothing happens.

I've wrestled with what to write in this post.  There are two themes, one of caution and one of encouragement. 

Personally, I'm cautious not to get caught up in performative acts, the kind of virtue-signaling that stays on the surface and inoculates against real change.  That's not to say that signing pledges, kneeling in public, and posting the same on social media are of no value, but it is to say this moment calls for so much more. 

As Charles Blow writes in his recent column in the NYT, "All of these are feel-good gestures that cost nothing and shift no power. They create no justice and provide no equity." 

Real change will be costly, not just in dollars and cents, but costly in the dismantling of white supremacy.

For too long, black liberation has been subject to white comfort.  Most everyone was pained watching the murder of George Floyd.  As a white person who has benefitted from the status quo, the goal cannot be merely to get rid of my pain and discomfort, but rather to undo the structures that continue to oppress people of color.

My opponent in last year's race, David Hoffert, wrote an incisive opinion piece on this very topic that was recently published in Isthmus. 

If our nation's long civil war is coming to end, if this indeed marks the moment when we embark on dismantling white supremacy, then we must look to the various structural components that undergird ongoing racial inequality and oppression.

One primary area is policing.  I share the belief we need to go beyond better police training and banning chokeholds.  Tonight, at Common Council we have an opportunity to assert community control and take a big step forward in expediting independent civilian oversight of the Madison Police Department. I'm a co-sponsor of Item #33 on the agenda that would advance this cause greatly.

Many of you have made your voices heard on this important topic.  Council members have received several thousand emails since George Floyd's murder on Memorial Day.  We must not let this moment pass.

I encourage you to participate.

The City of Madison is holding tonight's Common Council meeting virtually to help protect our community from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

1.Written Comments: You can send comments on agenda items to allalders@cityofmadison.com

2. Register but Do Not Speak: You can register your support or opposition to an agenda item at https://www.cityofmadison.com/MeetingRegistration

3.Register to Speak or to Answer Questions: If you wish to speak at the virtual meeting on an agenda item, you must register. You can register at https://www.cityofmadison.com/MeetingRegistration. When you register to speak, you will be sent an email with the information you will need to join the virtual meeting.

4.Watch the Meeting: You can call-in or watch the Common Council meeting in several ways:

•Livestream on the Madison City Channel website: https://media.cityofmadison.com/mediasite/showcase

•Livestream on the City of Madison YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CityofMadison

•Television: Watch live on Spectrum channel 994 and AT&T U-Verse channel 99

•Listen to audio via phone:  (877) 853-5257 (Toll Free) Webinar ID: 953 0231 4913

Thank you.

Listening. Learning. Speaking Out.

Be safe. Be well. Be kind.

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