Special to The Citizen newspaper, Auburn, NY, published on December 16, 2018
A community essay of declaration, intent and strategic action
William E. Berry Jr., Debra Rose Brillati and the Rev. Patrick Heery Special to The Citizen, Dec 16, 2018
It is striking that in Auburn, marketed as History’s Hometown in large part because of its rich history of activism for social justice and human rights, there has been little significant progress in recent years in how historically marginalized people are embraced and incorporated into the larger community — including its institutions, its elected and appointed leadership, and its overall culture.
Central New York can proudly proclaim its history of progressive social justice and equality activism, which has permeated this region of the Finger Lakes and western New York for almost two centuries. When economically convenient and politically correct, Auburn wraps itself in this progressive cloak, which masks the generational racial bias, ingrained if not taught, that persists in our community. While fairness and “equal opportunity” are touted as community values, there is a widespread inability to see the enormous role that racial bias plays in ordinary decisions, whether on a personal or professional level. More importantly, it is the refusal of the larger community to accept the simple fact that good people, fair people, outstanding and respected members of the community are marred by unconscious racially based attitudes that demean, hurt and cause historically marginalized people to drift further into the shadows and become invisible in the normal routines of any community.
The larger community, in most though not all cases, unintentionally (without forethought or malice) relegates marginalized people to a state of nonexistence, creating an atmosphere that whispers: “You are not wanted here. Do not cross the boundaries that have and will continue to corral your presence. We are fine because we do not see you, hear you, value you.” Of course, there are stellar exceptions. There are leaders who have been laboring to change these systems for a long time. Our progress, for instance, in implicit bias training and the recognition of Harriet Tubman would not have been possible without these leaders. Unfortunately, these individuals and their work all too often are also marginalized by the overall milieu of indifference or outright resistance.
For any progress to occur, it is imperative that the larger community takes the time to hear and honor the testimonies of historically marginalized peoples, at the intersections of race, gender, socioeconomic status, ability and sexuality. It will be tempting to dispute these experiences, to deny their reality because they do not accord with the experiences, or intentions, of the larger community. But that is precisely the point. There are multiple worlds in Auburn, multiple sets of experiences, and the only way one world can learn about another is by listening.
Insidious, unconscious and generational racism can shape a community by pushing certain “other” segments of our community deeper into their worlds of homogeneous and safe sub-communities, where they become quietly, residentially segregated; where they become discriminated against; where they become less than the larger community.
Why?
Because it is so much easier to treat people you don’t know or see in your neighborhood as less than you and less deserving of being treated as you, or your family or friends, would want to be treated.
As Michael Jackson cautioned everyone: Look at the (wo)man in the mirror. And change your ways.
It is past time for Auburn to take a hard look at the glaring absence of historically marginalized people in positio
The vibrancy and future of historically marginalized and invisible people and their children in Auburn depend on tackling real issues and not avoiding this work because of self-assumed stances of righteousness and/or erroneous concepts of equity and fair play.
What needs to happen?
Corporate and nonprofit executives and directors, as well as human resources personnel with primary responsibility for hiring and building a qualified staff, need to question the lack of diversity in (1) the applications received, (2) the candidate pool for second or third interviews, (3) the finalist pool, and (4) the eventual hire. They need to examine the process of hiring from within and how this perpetuates the lack of diversity. They must refuse to sanction or leave unquestioned the lack of historically marginalized people in positions at all skill and pay levels.
They must question why a marginalized person in a leadership position is most often replaced by a non-marginalized person, while a privileged (usually white) person in a leadership position is replaced by another privileged person.
Auburn corporate, governmental, nonprofit and small business leadership, across all and any employment sectors, especially at the level of leadership and supervisory positions, must be proactive in addressing this disparity. They must refuse to hide behind the traditional excuses: adherence to employment and equal opportunity laws, inability to find qualified candidates, salaries that are too low to attract applicants.
ns of influence and societal power in our city. We need to look at how appointed and searched positions in this community are filled and evaluate the reality of our professed commitment to diversity and inclusion.
More broadly, all those in the privileged class must recognize that they are susceptible to the subtle influences of generational racism and an inherent subconscious discriminatory bias toward people who are different from them — and work proactively against this racism and bias.
Historically marginalized people have been and remain invisible in Auburn and across our country. They too often are:
Not seen as equals.
Ignored.
Avoided.
Considered anti-American protesters.
Agitators.
Thugs.
Criminals.
Mobs.
Less than.
The future vitality and strength of Auburn depends on honest and frank appraisals of prior unintentional missteps that must be rectified to enable the entire community to move forward as one unified and focused population that will diligently seek to collectively and individually broaden and empower all of its residents regardless of societal difference to share in the abundance of forthcoming and continued community blessings. It is our moral responsibility to build upon the rich legacy of working together for social justice that has established Auburn’s role in American history and progressive social movements.
Signed,
Walt Aikman, Ph.D.
Auburn/Cayuga County Branch of the NAACP
Carmela Barbagallo
Keith Batman, District 7, Cayuga County Legislature and former candidate for New York State Assembly
bill berry, jr., publisher, aaduna
Harriet Tubman Boosters
Lisa A. Brennan
Debra Rose Brillati
Christine P. Carter
The Rev. Paul Gordon Carter
Harriet Tubman Center for Justice and Peace
Clare Songbirds Publishing House
David Connelly
Elinor Cramer
Dr. John Crowley
Patricia L. D'Agostino
Amy Doyle
Jim Ellis
Annie Ellis
Karen Faris
Laura Williams French
Merlyn Fuller
Wayne Fuller
Faith Goodman
Jan Graham
Charlie Greene P.E., Greene Engineering PLLC & Eesa Erosion Reconstruction LLC
John Charles "Jack" Hardy
The Rev. Patrick D. Heery, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church
Eliezer Hernández
Rachael Ikins
Barry Kahn, member, Harriet Tubman Boosters board
Pauline Johnson
Ursula Johnson-Woods Johnson
Joe Leogrande, member, Auburn Human Rights Commission
Lucien X. Lombardo, Ph.D.
Shavonn G. Lynch
The Rev. Beth S. Malone
The Rev. James Moore, co-pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Glenda Neff
Heidi Nightengale
Carrie O’Grady
Christopher Patch
Barbara L. Post
Terry Quill Jr.
SK Scolaro
Deidre' Johnson-Stanford
Laurel Ullyette
Linda P. Van Buskirk
Ronald C. Van Nostrand
Toni Van Nostrand
DJ Watkins
Linda Webster
Steve Webster
Joe Whiting
Freddie Wilson III
Rhoda Overstreet Wilson
Kirsten Wise
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