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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Cultural Communities Board - 02/27/2018Cultural Communities Board Meeting February 27, 2018 Minutes Kent, Washington Approval Pending Date: February 27, 2018 Time: 6:30 p.m. Place: First Christian Church Attending: Rand Al Hammadi, Yusuf Bashir, Marvin Eckfeldt, Satwinder Kaur, Norma Maldonado, Mizanur Rahman, Cesar Rangel, Ta Kwe Say, Vaivao Semisi-Tupou, Ted Schwarz, Pastor Herbert Carey, Marwa Almusawi Absent: Guystave Sebatware, Davies Chirwa, Sara Franklin-Phillips, Shanrkeep Kaur Shoker, Sonia Morales, Samiha Bhuiyan Agenda: 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Cesar Rangel – Chair, at 6:36 p.m. 2. Roll Call Guystave Sebatware, Davies Chirwa, Sara Franklin-Phillips, Shanrkeep Kaur Shoker, Sonia Morales, Samiha Bhuiyan were absent. 3. Changes to the Agenda None 4. Welcome by the Chair Chair Cesar Rangel welcomed the group for being at the meeting. Cesar thanked First Christian Church for hosting the Cultural Communities Board meeting. 5. Announcements Marvin: talked about the Japanese American Internment. During World War II the federal government detained thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry who were living within 60 miles from the coast in Washington, Oregon and California. One of those detention centers was in Puyallup at the state fair. Japanese residents in the Green River valley want this action to not be forgotten. The presentation will take place Saturday March 10, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Kent Lutheran Church. Marwa: mentioned that the Green River College president will be hosting a town hall in Kent. Dr. Suzanne Johnson will host the event on March 29th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Green River Kent campus. Cultural Communities Board Meeting February 27, 2018 Minutes Kent, Washington Approval Pending Pastor Carey: talked about the poor peoples’ campaign. The campaign is focused on helping those who are considered to live under the federal poverty level. It has nothing to do with race, religion etc. Poverty affects everyone. This is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s inaugural campaign. Ta: The Run for Relief 5k will take place on Saturday March 10th. Ta has registration forms and flyers to distribute. He will email the information to Uriel so that he can distribute the information to the rest of the group. Ted: Ted mentioned that there is a movement to push for gun reform. He mentioned the recent shooting at a Florida High School, and the movement that is pushing for gun reform legislation. Satwinder: mentioned the unity rally that happened last year as a result of the attack on the Sikh man. She asked if the board was interested in helping organize another unity rally. Satwinder mentioned that over 500 people showed up to the rally last year. Mizan: asked if the purpose of a new unity rally was to remember last year’s incident. Satwinder: explained that it was intended as another way of bringing community together. The group then went around and introduced themselves and the community and or organization that they represent during the meetings. 6. First Christian Church listening Session The Board Chair then turned it over to our hosts, to start the listening session. Our hosts had prepared questions for the group. 1. What kind of a Community does Kent Cultural Committee/ or individuals want? Why is that important? (what changes will be observed?) and how is that different from the way things are now? 2. What are the needs of our diverse communities in Kent? Are there gaps in the community needs that are not being met? 3. What are ways that church partners can help in a meaningful way to serve our community? Are there obstacles that faith communities make as they seek to learn more about our wide array of cultural experiences? 4. Are there other faith communities that are interested in interfaith dialogues and/or partnering in community-based activities to strengthen our community or other common goals? Cultural Communities Board Meeting February 27, 2018 Minutes Kent, Washington Approval Pending 5. In what ways do our many and diverse cultures seek collaboration and integration? Are there ways you see individual segments avoid collaboration and integration? 6. Anything else you can share with us, we humbly thank you. Chris (First Christian Church): Welcomed the group and stated that he was thankful to have the group here. He mentioned that he has been married to Colleen for 29 years and that they were both raised in Kent. Chris and Colleen have seen a change for the better in the City of Kent. He mentioned that the City is far more interesting with the demographic changes. He also stated that they have also seen a change in their congregation. Chris then asked the group what they wanted the City to look like in the future. How can communities get more connected? Their mission is to understand the community and how they fit in the larger Kent community. What kind of community does the CCB board want? And how would it be different than what they see today? Yusuf: Make the community feel like home. He says that in this country people have the rights to talk, rights to worship and it doesn’t matter if you were not born in this country. Everyone has the right to have the same opportunities to succeed. He also mentioned that it seems like people are losing connections. People are too busy with technology to acknowledge and learn from each other. The connections people had to their community is not the same anymore. Semisi: 20 years ago, when he first moved to Kent, the neighborhoods and neighbors were very welcoming. Now-a-days people keep to themselves. Keeping to themselves in their own communities. Marwa: we need to acknowledge the history of this land and who it belongs to. We are here and able to use the land, so we should acknowledge and thank Native Americans for their land. Mizan: Are there any steps to follow for partnership with other churches? (The question was made in reference to a suggestion made by Chris about First Christian Church’s willingness to learn and partner with other groups). Chris: thanked everyone for their answers and then asked if we could move to question number 5. In what ways do our many and diverse cultures seek collaboration and integration? Are there ways you see individual segments avoid collaboration and integration? Mizan: What do you mean by integration? Satwinder: The easiest way to integrate is having neighbors come and welcome you. Talk about kids and things that you have in common with your neighbors. Yusuf: People should get to know their neighbors. People don’t connect with each other anymore. We all need to trust each other. We need to have those Cultural Communities Board Meeting February 27, 2018 Minutes Kent, Washington Approval Pending conversations. If you want to feel welcome, take time to talk to your neighbors and ask questions. Marwa: We need to talk about the idea of belonging. We also need to understand that identity is fluid. Ted: a lot of it has to do with trust. You can work with people from different backgrounds and have trust. Pastor Carey: How can we as a community come together and be more inviting? We have to find common ground. Concerns for moral values, healthcare, criminal justice, we can all agree on fairness. Marvin: The City of Kent has made great strides with the Kent international festival. What about coordinating a town hall meeting? We would begin to have these conversations to highlight diversity and inclusion. The conversation then turned to the subcommittees. Uriel mentioned that the topics of choice based on the survey and responses from the group were education, housing/employment and police. The group agreed to create the subcommittees and each member present selected one to join. Education Police Housing/Employment Yusuf Mizan Ta Mizan Simisi Ted Simisi Sara Rand Norma Emergency Response Team Marwa Ted Satwinder Cesar Meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Minutes by Uriel Varela Jr.