Last night, Kansas City Mayor Sly James participated in an important panel discussion on the topic of race and the American Dream.
There were some pointed questions from the crowd and a variety of curious insights from fellow panelists but as usual, Mayor James was the star of the event.
To wit . . .
CHECK THESE RECENT QUOTES ON RACISM AND THE AMERICAN DREAM FROM KANSAS CITY MAYOR SLY JAMES!!!
Highlighted and given just a bit of context within the recent conversation:
Mayor Sly James on his racial identity: "There's a lot of people who don't think I'm black enough and there a lot of people who think I'm too Black. I'm beyond the point of needing their validation and really don't care."
Confronting stereotypes: "I will correct people when they say 'black eye' or 'black mark' because I don't want them saying something that is negative about my skin color and thinking that's okay, that it's just a euphemism."
Regarding African-American students suspended more frequently in Missouri: "We all start with the basic understanding that there is systemic racism in schools just like there is sexism in schools. Girls are not treated equally to boys, Black kids are not treated equally to others."
Solving the racial debate: "None of these problems are going to ever going get solved until we actually learn the difference between: 'Hey I work with a Black guy or I work with a Latina' as opposed to 'I have really good friends who are Latino and as a matter of fact they're at my house tonight watching TV with me' . . . When we get to that stage, some of this stuff goes away. But until then we're going to continue to have these troubles."
Mayor Sly James speaks from a historical perspective: "The idea about racism starts with slavery. There were people who saw Black people in chains and, frankly, wanted to keep them there. When we have a society that is set up by a race that had for a long time enslaved other people and those same people set up the justice system then those vestiges of racism linger."
Kansas City's Mayor on the topic of immigration: "The basic policy as I understand it is that it's not an issue that the police department is going out looking for . . . If it becomes a major issue during the course of some other interaction then they have to deal with it. But, they're not engaged in sweeps and doing the job of the Federal Law enforcement. That's not what we do and that's not the way to build trust in the community."
Mayor Sly James on expectations from the Black community: "This is one of the burdens of being Black. Because I'm Black, I'm now the savior and will change history. I'm sorry, that's not going to happen. What we are doing is we are trying to make sure that the systems we have in place do not react to the color of somebody's skin but react to whatever actions they're taking with police or whatever actions they're taking elsewhere."
On the subject of local Black leaders: "What the Chief of Police is doing is trying to go out and work with everybody to show that the fact that he's a Black man does not mean that he won't protect a white person in this society or in this city. And that he will make sure Black people are treated fairly. I do the same thing every day. But it is fallacious to believe that because there are three Black people in three specific key situations that we are somehow going to be able to turn the tide of history and change everything in a matter of four years."
Confronting expectations in the Mayor's office: "There are a lot of people who want to see change and one thing I've learned in my office is that a lot of people don't like the way things are but they absolutely hate change. I have a responsibility to every citizen in this city and I take it extremely seriously. But, my responsibility does not extend to the point where I am solely responsible for changing everything people don't like. You don't like it? Get involved, change it. But don't look around for somebody else to do the heavy lifting for you."
Mayor Sly James: "I'm proud to be an American. I put on the uniform of the United States Marine Corps because I was proud of being an American. I had the ability to choose . . . I happen to love this country because it does have promise."
The conversation continued but clearly the comments from the Mayor defined the evening.
Dead Tree Media token Mary Sanchez was there in sexy high heeled boots . . . Expect her column on the topic sometime next week.
The moviemakers behind the "My Fellow Americans" also took a barrage of questions mostly regarding why the presenters were all white.
The series will continue on KCPT and focuses on racial issues not only in KCMO but throughout the nation. Like it or not, this blog is the only place where a FREE SPEECH DISCUSSION of race will be allowed and encouraged.
Last night the moviemakers directed us toward a number of clips featuring Kansas City's Mayor continuing his talk about racism and leadership in Kansas City
Take a look:
Mayor Sly visits Montgall . . . Must be election time, again.
Mayor Sly talks La Migra . . .
Racial progress in Kansas City???
"What's difficult for people to tolerate is that they see change happening in other places, but not much happening in their own communities." - Mayor Sly James
Actually, this is the best segment:
Mayor Sly has a dream too . . .
Mayor Sly talks #Ferguson and Trayvon . . .
Eco-Devo and racism with a splash of toy train streetcar influence.
Again, the point of these clips and the presentation was to inspire discussion but overly polite public TV chatter might not be the best way to look at what really drive the racial discourse. As usual, our TKC blog community leads all other local media outlets on that topic.
Developing . . .