All Hands on Deck: Talking About Race, Inclusion, and the Goshen CRC

If you saw the April 11 edition of the Goshen News, you likely noticed the above-the-fold headline, “City leader accused of sharing racist rhetoric.”

Did your chest tighten as you read those words? I know mine did. There’s nothing easy about this conversation, but here we go.

Several months ago, Councilman Ed Ahlersmeyer read aloud — in an official public gathering — an article by writer Shari Goodman called “Blacks, Crime, and the Bended Knee”.  He did this at a Community Relations Commission (CRC) meeting, where he serves as a City Council appointee. Please find and read the piece in its entirety. It claims to be a complaint about Colin Kaepernick’s famous (or infamous) bended knee protest against acts of police violence, but it’s clearly much more than that.

In nearly every line of the article, my eyes see overt hostility at an entire race and a profound ignorance of our nation’s racial history. Each thought feels like a partial thought, leaving out huge swaths of contextual information, with the writer setting up “whites” and “blacks” as adversaries.  And it’s all in response to one man’s behavior (Colin Kaepernick). Ranting against an entire race in response to one person’s behavior is the very embodiment of racial prejudice.

I would be negligent if I didn’t assess the messages contained in the article against the backdrop of the role Councilman Ahlersmeyer plays on the Community Relations Commission.

Ahlersmeyer said he read the article not because he agreed with all of it, but because he considered it worthy of discussion. I’m a big fan of discussion. But his claim that he was trying to have a deeper conversation doesn’t align with his previous statements or actions. Prior to the recent public criticism of the article, he never attempted to discuss it with anyone. In fact, he shunned multiple requests do to so. And he still hasn’t specified which parts of the article he agrees/disagrees with — or why an NFL player’s protest should become a priority for  a commission in Goshen, Indiana.

Some have defended Councilman Ahlersmeyer, claiming there is value in having  “diverse viewpoints” on the CRC. But surely no one would argue that the variation of viewpoints should fall outside the core purpose of that commission. There’s merit in debating how best to achieve success; but appointing members who misunderstand or repeatedly dispute the very foundations of a board or commission’s function is an obvious recipe for failure (right?). It’s why you don’t see Chamber of Commerce boards led by vocal Communists.

The CRC is charged with nurturing and sustaining a climate of non-discrimination and social harmony in the city of Goshen. Based on his actions (and on conversations I’ve had with him in the wake of those actions), my conclusion is that Councilman Ahlersmeyer is not an appropriate Council presence on the CRC. This is not a condemnation of Ed as a human being; humans are complex, multi-facetted creatures. And we’ve got to find ways to keep everyone in the larger circle, including those we think are wrong about something as important as race.  I will unequivocally assert, however, that he is not a good fit for the task of racial bridge-building. Maybe one day he will be. Life experience has a way of transforming people. But he’s not ready now.

I hope Councilman Ahlersmeyer will resign from the CRC. It would be a gesture of goodwill on his part, a public acknowledgement that he has more to learn before serving in such a role. If he is genuinely interested in building stronger cross-cultural/racial relationships in Goshen, he should work for that… but not as a commission member.  City resources are too scarce to use the CRC as a vehicle to absorb, and then attempt to enlighten, one individual at a time.

If Ed DOES resign, City Council will have a CRC seat to fill. What will our criteria for an appointee be this time around?

Democracy — politics — is an ongoing negotiation. Painful episodes like this should be greeted as opportunities to reinforce our collective values. Mine is just one voice, one opinion; but I want it to be clear: the CRC should be a place to champion the rights of historically marginalized people. It should be a place to devise and implement strategies that help residents of Goshen live together justly and peaceably — regardless of race (and culture, gender, religion, sexual preference or identity). Surely that effort should be led by those who have firsthand knowledge of the challenges minority/marginalized communities face — and those who sincerely wish to understand and address those challenges.

Well.

I’ve read and reread my own words here dozens of times. There are too many of them and the ones I use aren’t good enough. They don’t walk off the screen and pull us to another world where we have it all figured out. I wish they did. I’m almost tempted to keep them to myself, because it feels futile to even try.  But then I remember that staying silent or giving up doesn’t work either. So I’m going to push “publish” anyway.

If you have words you want to add (perfect or imperfect), I hope you will.

This matter is on tonight’s (April 17 @ 7 p.m. @ 111 E. Jefferson) City Council agenda.