Squid baffled as local reporter asks, "Racism in Salinas?!"

Race to the Bottom…Squid appreciates homemade apple pie and perfectly cooked turkey as much as any American, but Squid can’t help but feel a little troubled by a holiday that celebrates gluttony and glosses over the colonial history in which the first Thanksgiving was set.

What better season to explore the complicated issues of privilege and the occasional negative feelings that come with it: guilt, shame and blame among them, according to the wise Jerry Tello, a Los Angeles-based educator/healer/speaker/trainer.

Tello was one of the trainers in Salinas for a week-long training Nov. 17-21 on Governing for Racial Equity, sponsored by the California Endowment and led by the the National Compadres Network and Race Forward (The Center for Racial Justice Innovation).

The California Endowment is already waist-deep in East Salinas, where it funds one of 14 Building Healthy Communities programs across California, aiming to close big disparities in wellness between privileged and under-privileged communities. So there was already a baseline for the training, which brought together about 50 community members (selected from a mix of grassroots and nonprofit groups) and 50 city staffers (the rank-and-file folks who really run the show, not the mayor and City Council members).

A handful of trainees met with the media last week to talk about how it went, and the short answer: well. It’s the first-ever city-wide training of its type, and coincided with the announcement about the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Wilson is white, and protests have surged in Missouri and across the country in the months since he shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black.

The racial dynamics in Salinas are different, but they are real. In the wake of four fatal officer-involved shootings in Salinas this year, protesters, mostly peaceful but not always, have been persistent in showing up. An FAQ released by the Salinas PD, which included the question “Why should I trust you?”, offered this explanation for why all four officer-involved shootings involved Latinos: “More than 9 out of 10 violent crimes in Salinas are committed by Latinos. People don’t commit violent crimes because they are Latino, of course… violent crime is much more likely in underserved neighborhoods.”

Squid has no doubt we are still grappling with racism in this free nation of ours, and Squid thinks the Race Forward training is a great start to get the people of Salinas—many of them angry—talking to decision-makers.

Squid’s colleague asked if the group had talked about the media in their training at all. The response: nervous laughter. And then as if to prove why media wasn’t included, members of the media started asking some embarrassing questions.

“I’m failing to grasp what the problem is,” said KSBW’s Felix Cortez. “There’s a problem here with racism?”

Carissa Purnell, the city’s deputy librarian, offered a little schooling: “It’s a series of problems that are connected to one another,” she said. “Racism is a component. There are disparities based on race, gender, class.”

One example of bias Purnell brought up: How can working-class families have equal access to 4pm public meetings that take place during the workday? What if they can’t afford childcare for that after-school time?

Important questions, but some members of the media were feeling left out. “I think the idea of not including us last week was a mistake,” said Jeff Mitchell of the Salinas Californian.  

He was persistent with questions about budget, progress, deliverables—in a conversation that’s only just begun, and which may only offer deliverables months or years from now.

It all leaves Squid, ever a champion of access for the press, thinking it’s a good idea Race Forward left the press out of this first round of training.

But it has Squid thinking maybe the next Race Forward training should be for the media. Count Squid in.