Half Moon Bay Mayor Eisen And Assemblyman Berman Statement About Racism, Floyd Killing

Press release from the City of Half Moon Bay California:

June 6, 2020

June 6, 2020 - Mayor Adam Eisen and Assemblyman Marc Berman have recently offered statements decrying the systemic racial inequality in the United States. Mayor Eisen's statement previously appeared in his weekly letter to the community.

From Half Moon Bay Mayor Adam Eisen

Stand Up to Racism and Intolerance

I want to talk about painful, disturbing social issues going on that we must recognize and address.

I want our community to know that Half Moon Bay is a welcoming, tolerant, and safe place for all people – no matter their color, religion, national origin, socio-economic standing, gender, sexual orientation, or immigration status.

Let me remind you that I am a great supporter of our local law enforcement. But we mustrecognize that instances of excessive use of force, as we recently saw in Minneapolis, are a symptom of something very wrong in our society, no matter where they occur.

We should not and cannot ignore these signs – we do so at great risk to the well-being of all our communities, and all the people who live there.

There is zero tolerance in Half Moon Bay for prejudice, racism, bigotry, hatred, bullying, and violence – and that means by community members, by businesses, or by those under color of authority.

Our City leaders and all who live and work here must maintain a commitment to treating everyone with respect, and not allow hateful acts to exist in our community – and to denounce them wherever they occur.

Only through that kind of attitudinal change, on the most widespread levels, can we begin to address the problems with racism and other discriminations.

I am calling on the members of our community to continue Half Moon Bay’s long tradition of acceptance and respect for all people. Together, let’s commit to some solid action:

• Actively denounce any attempt to intimidate, threaten, or otherwise marginalize members of our community – speak up
• Speak and act with respect for all persons
• Talk about our society’s problems concerning racism, intolerance, and discrimination
• Be aware of your own microaggressions and inequities in your everyday interactions – and commit to changing that behavior

I ask you to think of the world we are leaving to our children and the generations beyond – we want that world to be one where all people are empowered to be confident and effective citizens and contributors to our society.

That dream is at great risk today, and it is up to each of us to work toward positive change.

From Assemblyman Marc Berman

Some are guilty, but all are responsible

Like you, when I saw the video of George Floyd’s murder I was shocked, outraged, and heart-broken. As the days went on, and protesters righteously took to the streets, my feelings transitioned into a combination of being consumed, overwhelmed, and frankly a bit paralyzed by what was going on.

Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Stephon Clark, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Those are just a few of the Black men and women - and even children - who have been killed either by police or vigilantes who saw the color of their skin, and immediately devalued the worth of their lives.

What the hell is wrong with us?

As a white man of privilege, I cannot begin to understand what my Black friends and constituents face on a daily basis. Therefore before speaking out, I wanted to listen. To the words of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Killer Mike of Atlanta, who spoke so passionately of the pain they were feeling in the early morning hours this past Saturday. Or the words of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who so poignantly wrote that "Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible - even if you’re choking on it - until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere." Or in private conversations I have had with Black community leaders in my district over the last few days.

As long as people I have sworn to represent live in fear because of the color of their skin, I have failed. My grief and anger means nothing if I govern in a way that allows the systemic racism that has subjugated Black and other communities of color for centuries to persist. Whether it is an unwarranted suspension in school, an unjustified traffic stop, an unnecessary search, or one of the many other daily offenses, it is not a series of bad actions; it is a fundamentally failed system. The system must be changed.

California has taken steps to correct some of these systemic flaws. We have reformed the inherently racist and discriminatory money bail system. We have passed legislation to restrain the use of force, reform sentencing guidelines that are used to target minorities, and acknowledge the role that unconscious bias plays in perpetuating racism in our society, from education to healthcare.

We must do so much more. We must insist that our police, who are sworn to serve and protect, truly serve all Californians, and are not allowed to close ranks and protect their own at the expense of justice.

We must increase police oversight, further limit the use of deadly force, hold people who commit these atrocities accountable, and dismantle the underlying racism that has led us to this day.

But that is just the beginning. We must not become desensitized to the outrage that we feel right now. I am committed to working with my colleagues to make sure that we don’t return to normal, when normal has become the far too frequent murder of unarmed Black Americans by the police in broad daylight. It must be a constant focus and priority, factored into every action we take.

I pledge to do everything I can to address these failures and heal our communities. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote: "Indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, [and] in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible."

This press release was produced by the City of Half Moon Bay California. The views expressed here are the author’s own.