Hearing Calls for Justice

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Since I last spoke to you, we’ve seen days of protests continue across the country and here in San Diego. They’ve been overwhelmingly peaceful, but no less impassioned in their calls for justice.

The police killing of George Floyd is painful to watch by itself. But it’s not by itself. It’s the latest addition to a long history of institutional violence committed against Black people in America. It’s the latest example that, despite progress we’ve made, racism still exists in our society, even among those sworn to protect us. 

The combined weight of that history and these incidents produces pain, frustration and anger that’s impossible for those of us who are not Black to truly understand. We do need to recognize and accept their experience and emotions. We can all listen to the messages coming from the peaceful marches in the streets and our communities, and continue to learn about the full scope of racism and the ways we need to confront it.

When we talk about institutional racism, we have to recognize – the County is an institution. We are the institution. We need to take the uncomfortable step of looking at our own operations for practices or policies that perpetuate bias, whether in our workplace or in the communities we serve. We must reject discrimination and any action that denies equal justice for all.  

We need to study social justice and equity in our budgeting process. How we choose to spend the public’s money is a direct reflection of our values.

We need to open up dialogue, including holding focus groups with community members and among employees, to discuss what’s often been ignored.

We’ll direct our Diversity & Inclusion Executive Council to do a thorough review of the goals and actions needed to root out and keep out institutionalized racism.

We’ll engage our Employee Resource Groups so they can better bring their perspectives and lived experience into our operations. They shared a powerful message on the protests I encourage you to read.

Before George Floyd was killed, but after several racist or hate-driven incidents in our county, our Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to bring back a human relations commission and named it in honor of political pioneer and community leader Leon Williams. He was the County’s first African American supervisor and started its original human relations commission decades ago. Its goal is to help unite the community and promote equity.

Our Sheriff and all other local law enforcement agencies last week took action to ban the carotid hold. That showed a willingness to rethink and quickly change policies, a readiness to act that we will need to repeat in other areas.  

I applaud the deputies and officers who have reached out to stand, pray, hug and walk alongside protesters. Those simple gestures build trust, something we’ll need to do much more of. 

None of these steps alone will provide a quick fix. It will take all of them and more, and much hard work, to achieve the just outcomes all people deserve.

I’m thankful the protests have continued to be peaceful, allowing us to put our attention where it belongs: on having heartfelt conversations that lead to education, understanding and real change.

ERG Council Statement on Protests

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The Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) stand in solidarity with peaceful protestors responding to the violence, economic inequality and prejudice that are occurring today. We speak with one voice and say that injustice is unacceptable. To not speak up during this turning point in San Diego and across our nation would be complicity on our part. We call on those in positions of power and privilege to stand for our brothers and sisters who have had their voices silenced and break the cycles of violence and racism in our country.

ERGs are formed to provide community and foster deeper connection within historically marginalized groups. We are committed to increasing awareness of culture, race and ethnic relations among our County employees and the communities we represent. We support social justice and encourage discussions to improve the socio-economic, cultural, and public health well-being of our members and our communities.

We pledge to continue to be part of the solution and be voices of change that address the deep and complex issues affecting race, culture, inequality, violence, representation, and economic improvement.

We encourage all our members and County family to get involved: donate to an affiliated cause, contact your local elected officials to ensure they hear your concerns, use your social media and contact networks to have important conversations, and take care of one another. 

Dr. Keisha Clark, Chair

Ben Parmentier, Co-Chair

ERGCouncil@sdcounty.ca.gov

Update for June 1

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Today I’m shifting from my updates on our COVID-19 response to talk about the protests across the nation and here in San Diego County, especially in their direct impact on our operations.

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered in La Mesa around our library, and last night, outside our County Administration Center. As has happened in so many situations like this, the vast majority protested thoughtfully and peacefully. Their voices exposed deep emotions regarding bias and disparities. Difficult words but important for all to hear. A few allowed their anger to spill over and cause damage to our library and to the County Administration Center. Thankfully, the damage is relatively minor, but enough that we need to close these facilities during the clean-up and repair until we are sure it is safe for employees and the public to enter. This will take a few days.

What will take much more than a few days is addressing the underlying issues that the protesters are raising.

We all need to open our ears and our hearts. But we also must not allow violence to threaten property and lives. The destruction that happened in La Mesa is not acceptable. The laws that protect our free speech are a blessing. We’re so lucky to live in a country where we can speak up and demand change to correct wrongs. But the laws that protect our safety and our property are equally important. We can’t lose sight of the rule of law or the freedom to speak out.

The events of the last several days have left us all filled with emotions. Anger. Frustration. Maybe even despair. But I see the hope that lies ahead. We have all been stirred. And when we all are stirred, we can commit ourselves to action.

The County has started initiatives like Live Well Communities, our Employee Resource Groups and Diversity & Inclusion, because we acknowledge the many issues we need to address. Unconscious bias is real. Health inequities are evident. And justice disparities exist.

And as public servants, we are in positions to do something about it. Our responsibility is to have a positive impact on our community. We need to look at how we learn from this moment and turn it into an opportunity to create a better, more just world.

Hours after vandals struck La Mesa this weekend, a much bigger mob descended – with brooms, buckets and paint rollers. Cleaning away ingrained biases and disparities will take much more effort than sweeping up broken glass. But we can, we must, harness that same spirit of coming together to right wrongs and direct it toward making sure our vision of healthy, safe and thriving reaches ALL San Diegans.

Together, we can do this. We must do this.