Final Meeting of 2021

Notes by Sharon Jarrett

No reading had been posted for this meeting and the participants engaged in a discussion on a broad reaching set of topics related to racial equity issues currently in the news.

Redistricting Processes

A participant shared their experience participating in the redistricting process in Pasadena. The process was overseen by an appointed committee of citizens who made recommendations to the City Council on changes in current districts. The participant was surprised by the community engagement and history provided to the committee for consideration. The final recommendations attempted to impact the fewest number of citizens. It was noted by the committee that the population over 65 were not very engaged in the process.

Recent Legal Cases

Another participant asked what those present thought about the Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Aubrey cases. In the Rittenhouse case it was noted that the law had been followed but the outcome did not seem just. The Aubrey case was noted to have had prosecutor issues initially. Those seemed to pass and the case appeared to be fair.

The Traditional Narrative

The participants briefly returned to the topic of the "traditional narrative" versus historical fact conversation particularly in Texas. A participant reminded the group of the book "American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America" by Colin Woodward (2011). It was recommended as a helpful guide to regional thought processes and historical experiences. The podcast "White Affirmative Action" was recommended.

Sally Currie shared her recent poem "Great American Fakeout".

Due to the holiday, there will be no meeting December 17th. The next meeting will be January 7, 2022 at 10:00a PST.

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