City of

REWING2021 CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT

To: City Council Members and MayorFrom: Michelle Leise, Community Engagement Facilitator and HRC Staff LiaisonMeeting Date: August 9, 2021

Agenda Item Number: 10. C.

Title — Consider Motion to Adopt * Resolution 7675 Declaring Racism a Public HealthEmergency

Purpose — In late 2020, City Council requested that the Human Rights Commission review aresolution on this topic brought forth by a Red Wing resident and bring its findings back to theCouncil. The HRC has taken time to research, discuss, and reformulate the resolution, and in

July, the HRC voted unanimously to recommend this new draft to the Council for its review.

Recommended Action —Adopt * Resolution 7675 Declaring Racism a Public Health Emergency

Attachments -

Resolution 7675 Declaring Racism a Public Health Emergency

Alignment with 2019 Strategic Plan —

Strategy # 59: Be more purposeful in monitoring, evaluating, reassessing, and improving our

policies and systems so they are fair and equitable for all.

Strategy #60. Build stronger relationships with communities where trust has been broken or still

needs strengthening, in order to form long lasting, respectful, shared commitment.

Background —

At its October 26, 2020, City Council meeting, the Council' s agenda included a presentation

by a private citizen presenting a draft of a resolution declaring racism a public healthemergency. After the presentation and discussion, Council found consensus on the followingideas:

The presentation was well- sourced and brought up good points for the City to address.The resolution as originally drafted listed a number of policy or practice implications.Some resolutions are more a statement of acknowledgement.) For that reason, the

Advisory Team on Government Policies and Practices should have a role in reviewingany policy proposals that are included in or result from the final resolution before the

Council approves any specific policies.The Human Rights Commission should be the primary group that spends timereviewing the original resolution in order to bring back a revised draft for the Council toconsider.

The Human Rights Commission formed a committee at its November 12, 2020, meeting todelve into this issue. The HRC members on that committee include RedHeart RedHeart, Beth

Breeden, Michael Holmes, and Kayla Haft. Resident Chaz Neal, who brought this idea to the

Council in October, participated on the committee as an advisory member from the public.Mayor Mike Wilson attended some of these committee meetings, as well.

As part of the HRC committee' s work, it did the following:

Researched the resolutions of other communities (examples cited below)

Spoke to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights

Spoke with Minneapolis City Council member Andrea JenkinsTalked with the mayor of Rochester

Met in committee numerous times to discuss specific elements of the resolution

The committee reviewed the following documents in their research.

Olmsted Countyhttp:// olmstedcountymn. igm2. com/ Citizens/ FileOiDen. aspx?Tvpe= 15& ID= 1836& Inline=True

City of Minneapolishttps:// lims.minneapolismn. gov/Download/ RCA/ 14012/ Declaring% 20Racism% 20a%20Pub

lic% 20Health% 20Emergency%20Resolution. pdf

Hennepin County Boardhttps:// hennepin. novusagenda.com/ agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx? ItemID= 9375& Meetin

qlD= 1020

Ramsey Countyhttps:// www.startribune.com/ ramsey-county- board- calls- racism- a- public-health-

crisis/ 571853841/

The Minnesota Department of Heath' s website on the impact of racism on health;

https:// www.health. state.m n. us/com m un ities/ practice/ resources/egu itylibrary/apha-

impactracism. html

The Minnesota House of Representatives

https:// www. revisor.mn. gov/bills/ text.php? number=HR1& tvpe= resolution&version= 0& sessi

on= ls91& session year=2020&session number=2

The following examples are put forth by the HRC to show what key documents are beingidentified at a national level:

White House Executive Order Advancing Racial Equity:https:// www.whitehouse. gov/briefing- room/ presidential- actions/2021/ 01/ 20/executive-order-

advancing- racial-equity-and- support- for-underserved- communities- through- the-federal-

government/

National Institute for Health document on Ending Structural Racism:httips:// www. nih. gov/ending- structural- racism

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Racism- Disparities Index:

https:// www.cdc.gov/healthequity/ racism- disparities/ index. html

Blue Cross Blue Shield: https://www.bcbs. com/

In addition, these sources were also used-

2 10

sed:

210 Cities/ Counties/Leaders Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis

https:// salud-america. org/ rising- number-of-cities-counties-are-declaring- racism- a- public-

health- crisis/

Series of webinars on the health effects of structural racism

https:// www. health. state. m n. us/communities/ practice/ resources/egu itylibrary/apha-

impactracism. html

Good definition of racism

https:// www.apha.org/ Topics-and- Issues/ Health- Equity/ Racism- and- health

At the HRC' s March 25, 2021 meeting, the HRC committee presented an updated draft ofthe resolution, based on the original version and additional research the HRC committee

had done. The HRC voted to approve this revised draft to the Council for its

consideration.

In the Council' s May 10, 2021, Status Report, the HRC' s recommended draft wasincluded and a request was put to City Council members asking for their individualfeedback on the document. Based on that feedback, a joint workshop between theCouncil and HRC was planned in order to discuss the different ideas put forth and find

some consensus.

A summarized list of that Council feedback was included in the packet for the June 24,

2021 HRC-Council joint workshop. The HRC and Council unfortunately did not discussthis issue on this date as planned because the meeting was adjourned early due to adisruption.

HRC Chair RedHeart compiled all the input from the original resolution draft, the HRC' s

research and edited earlier draft, and feedback from the Council in its written comments.

Chair RedHeart then provided the HRC with an updated version for the commission to

review.

The HRC discussed and reviewed the updated resolution at its July 22 meeting and heardfrom a few members of the public. One resident expressed support for the resolution

because it is a public acknowledgement — an accountability -- of the issues that need to

be addressed in Red Wing. A second member of the public also spoke in favor of theresolution and said she would like a Racial Equity Officer position added to City staff whowould focus on racial equity initiatives in order to move things along faster.

The HRC discussed the importance of the resolution and the need to voice to the public

the emergency nature of these issues. The HRC then voted unanimously on July 22 torecommend the attached resolution to the Council for its review and approval.

To see the HRC meeting, visit this link: http:// red- wing.granicus. com/ plaver/clip/2579.

To read the HRC' s agenda item, including all three drafts of the resolution, go to:https:// red- wing.granicus.com/ MetaViewer.php? view id= 3& clip id= 2579& meta id= 141108

Discussion —

HRC members reiterated that this resolution is just the first step and that action needs tofollow.

The resolution itself is a statement of what the City values and is a roadmap of what it will

prioritize. Individual policy changes will each be researched and delved into over time and

brought to the Council individually for consideration.

The resolution refers to a Racial Equity Plan. This Plan, which the HRC discussed at anearlier meeting, is in the public input stage and will continue to be revised and reviewed bymembers of the community over the next few weeks. The HRC, the Advisory Team, andothers will also have the opportunity to review revisions before that document goes before theCouncil this fall.

Financial plan and impact — None at this time. Policy decisions that may originate with the

resolution will have varying impacts to the budget.

Alternatives -

Approve Resolution 7675 as written.

Approve Resolution 7675 with modifications by the Council.Table the motion and request more information from City staff or the HRC.Deny the motion.Pursue other options of the Council' s choosing.

Recommended Action —Adopt Resolution 7675 Declaring Racism a Public Health Emergency

RESOLUTION NO. 7675

Declaring Racism a Public Health Emergency

WHEREAS, the vision of the City of Red Wing states that "Red Wing thrives as avibrant, creative river town that values its natural environment, welcomes all people, and

unlocks opportunity for everyone;" and

WHEREAS, the mission of the City of Red Wing states "We strive to create asustainable, healthy, accessible, resilient, and equitable community where every personfeels at home;" and

WHEREAS, the City of Red Wing recognizes the City is built upon homelands of theBdewakhanthunwan Dakota Indians of the Prairie Island Indian Community and thatIndigenous nations have lived upon this land since time immemorial, and the land itself

carries historical trauma, and that genocidal policies have aimed to strip tribal nationsnot only of land, but of culture, language, and family systems; and

WHEREAS, the City of Red Wing recognizes that Africans were forcibly brought to thiscountry, enslaved, and after the Emancipation of Slavery, citizens of this countryperpetuated anti- Black racism through violence, mass incarceration, and anti- Black

policies including redlining, and that the social construction of race was used to justifytheir "less than human" status; and

WHEREAS, racism has various forms including historical, individual, and systemic, andthat has not only continued to present day but has been institutionalized to ensure theconcentration of material, power, and resources into the hands of white bodied

individuals; and

WHEREAS, white supremacy is a political, economic, and cultural system in whichwhites overwhelmingly control power and material resources, conscious and

unconscious ideas of white superiority, and entitlement across a broad array ofinstitutions and social settings; and

WHEREAS, racism in all its forms causes persistent discrimination and disparate

outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, health, employment,public safety, and criminal justice; and

WHEREAS, a multitude of studies connect racism to inequitable health outcomes for

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), including cancer, coronary heartdisease, diabetes, hypertension, and high infant and maternal mortality rates,demonstrating that racism is the root cause of vast inequities in our social determinantsof health; and

WHEREAS, leading medical and public health organizations including, but not limitedto, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the

American Public Health Association recognize that systemic racism is a social

determinant of health that has profound, negative impacts on the health status of

children, youth, adults, and families, and that failure to address racism as an urgent

public health issue will exacerbate and perpetuate existing health inequities affectingBIPOC communities, and that these health organizations have made commitments to

work actively to dismantle racism in health care policies and practices; and

WHEREAS, research has shown that police killings of unarmed Black Americans have

adverse effects on mental health among Black American adults overall, and thatprograms are needed to decrease the frequency of police killings and to mitigateadverse mental health effects within communities when and where such killings occur;

and

WHEREAS, BIPOC community members in Red Wing experience the trauma of policeviolence and the vicarious trauma of reliving violent incidents via social media; and

WHEREAS, being anti- racist means moving and speaking in ways that repair ( notsimply abandon) more than 500 years of racist policies and practices. Anti- racismmeans actively participating in dismantling racist systems and institutional practices, aswell as addressing personal and interpersonal acts of racism; and

WHEREAS, embodied anti- racists acknowledge that this history still lives andexpresses itself through our bodies today; and

WHEREAS, City of Red Wing leadership is committed to ending racism and building anactive, anti- racist culture in the City of Red Wing now,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City of Red Wing will work to reduce the impactof racism by implementing a Racial Equity Plan. These impacts will include mentalhealth care, drug treatment, food deserts, housing, zoning, hiring practices, youthopportunities, and other impacts included in the Racial Equity Plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Red Wing will work with Goodhue County,the State of Minnesota, the Red Wing School District, the Prairie Island IndianCommunity Tribal Council, and other entities to identify and implement initiatives thatwill have the most impact on health disparities caused by racism; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Red Wing will set aside a dedicated fund ofmoney for supporting racial equity initiatives and collecting data; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Red Wing will work with our Human RightsCommission, our Advisory Team on Policies and Practices, and internal committees toidentify improvements that can be made to reduce the impacts of racism within our Citygovernment; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Red Wing will work with our public safetydepartments to increase access to equitable mental health services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Red Wing will work with our YouthCommission to support the development of more opportunities for marginalized youth.

Adopted by the City Council this th day of 2021.

Becky Norton, Council PresidentAttest:

Teri L. Swanson, MCMC, City Clerk

seal)

Presented to the Mayor at m. on this th day of 2021.

Approved this th day of 2021.

Michael Wilson, Mayor