The creation of a new task force to address issues of racism, equity and bias in Martinez is on temporary hold, after displeasure was expressed by City Council members and members of the public Wednesday night that seven of the 11 nominees for the inaugural panel are white.
The City Council could have formally approved the formation of the city’s Anti-Racism & Discrimination and Pro-Inclusion & Equity Task Force, and appointed 11 people (nine full members and two alternates) to the task force. But after several people — including some of the nominated panelists themselves — told the council (via Zoom) that the task force wasn’t nearly diverse enough, the council opted to push the matter to the council’s Nov. 4 meeting for further discussion, and for a modified resolution for moving forward.
The city sought applications for prospective panelists, and chose a six-person “community panel” to interview and then select at least nine prospective task force members. Of those 11, only one is Black.
87 comments
Their rational sounds a bit racist…
what a joke, just sad that this is what people think is the right thing to do.
God Help Us
I laughed out loud and took a screen shot of the headline. This headline is just…well, imagine I’m kissing my fingertips .
It will never be good enough. You can never be woke enough. They will always circle around and cannibalize each other because it is a zero sum game of hatred and resentment. Anyone that gets on board this crazy train of critical race theory intersectional nonsense deserved the knife they will inevitably get in the back.
Just a slow, but building to a crescendo slow clap for that headline. Bravo!
@Wage slave – you nailed it. Critical Race Theory is marxism 2.0. Divide people up by races, establish oppressor and victim classes and start the revolution.
Martinez City council needs some serious house cleaning.
Beautifully stated Wage Slave
And thank you Always Right for the reference to Critical Race theory and Marxism. A google search leads to some very interesting essays.
What percentage of the Martinez population is African American? Asking for a Statistician.
That’s the kind of ‘task force’ I will avoid like the plague. Be better if people don’t break the law, don’t lead police on a high-speed chase, don’t OD on Fentanyl (or anything else), don’t resist arrest or attack Law Enforcement Professionals, and take their Psychiatric medication as prescribed.
This isn’t rocket-science, it’s called common-sense!
Martinez is 68.7% White (2019 data). 7 out of 11 = 63.6%
Martinez is 3.5% Black (2019 data) 1 out of 11 is @ 9%
Mtz is less than 3% black.
You’re talking about criminals.
There is racism in the everyday world and that’s what the task force would be addressing.
The fact that you exclusively see black people as being associated with everything you mentioned is exactly the issue.
65.7% White alone
16.1% Hispanic
8.4% Asian alone
5.3% Two or more races
3.1% Black alone
0.2% Other race alone
0.09% American Indian alone
0.05% Native Hawaiian and Other
http://www.city-data.com/city/Martinez-California.html
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Martinez-California.html
From wikipedia:
The racial makeup of Martinez was 27,603 (77.1%) White, 1,303 (3.6%) African American, 255 (0.7%) Native American, 2,876 (8.0%) Asian, 121 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 1,425 (4.0%) from other races, and 2,241 (6.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,258 persons (14.7 percent).
So that panel actually did accurately reflect racial make up of the community.
I’m getting so bored of this
Wouldn’t need an anti-racist task force if mama could just learn to raise her children to obey all laws and respect those that enforce them…
I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that the 65 – 75% white citizens aren’t the ones experiencing racism. If you are going to form a task force to deal with an issue, then making sure that the members have an understanding of that issue is important. Asking a group of people to tackle racism when everyone knows what it is but 65 to 75% of the membership have probably never experienced it first hand seems to throw comon-sense out the window.
….And what percentage of that 3% live in government housing in Martinez?
So much for being “equitable”……but if you want to drive a new BMW or Mercedes…..just be the correct color and live in government housing!!
Wait now hold on, all those numbers don’t add up. Martinez can’t be around 70% white, 15% Hispanic, etc, when it’s about 40% Italian. That’s more than 100%. There’s no where NEAR that many white people in Martinez. The insinuation that Martinez is some kind of white bread town is ridiculous. It’s always had a strong Italian identity.
Racism stops when it stops being taught at home. Cost to stop pouring into the next generation is Priceless and at no cost to taxpayers and money thrown away when it could be used for something like helping the elderly.
Sarah,
There’s not much racism around, not even as much in the Old South. Two kids graduate from a good college, same GPA, one white, one black. They apply for a job at a major corporation, who do you think gets hired?
Sarah, perhaps you should move to Portland, you’d be happier.
108RS
You can teach it at home,but when kids grow up and get out in the real world, they see for themselves and make their decision based on what they see, hear and have dealt with.
Maybe we should blame the news that shows us things we shouldn’t see. .
I’m glad that was recognized. Why have a task force when there is no diversity in the task force to make sure that the prejudices are not overlooked. Recently someone made a racist comment towards me. When I told HR they said “well we don’t think that’s how she meant it”. No matter how much I said that I agree it may not have been meant that way but it was perceived and it should be addressed and due to the lack of diversity I felt it fell on deaf ears.
That’s a shame about your HR experience! How frustrating, on top of the negative feelings from the racist comment itself. We definitely have a ways to go! I support your assessment that we need diversity On the task force so that they’re actually equipped to identify prejudices – your example makes that point.
So you admit that the comments might not mean to offend but your thin skin is triggered…you are definitely part of the current issue not the solution. Are you trying to say that due to a lack of diversity that the individuals are any less able to recognize racism? that sounds pretty racist to me.
BDML – I can’t speak for the original poster’s experience, but I think you are missing the point in two ways. First, yes of course people can make offensive and racist comments without intending any harm, because they might not understand the negative stereotypes they’re tapping into with their comment. I can imagine a million scenarios where that might happen. And regardless of whether those types of comments are intended to hurt, people of color shouldn’t have to deal with them – ESPECIALLY in the workplace. Second, yes, White people are less capable of recognizing racism and that is one of the many reasons we need diversity in positions of power (Like HR and diversity task forces). It isn’t racist to say that white people are less equipped to identify racism- there is a difference between acknowledging race and being racist. In fact acknowledging race is an important part of dealing with our racism.
So we as white males in this world should just not speak then .. is that what you are saying? Sorry, things must be taken in context! If all you ever do is look for the ‘wrong’, that is all you will find! You will never be satisfied.
If something offends you, don’t run to HR ,let the ‘offender’ know. You might be surprised that they did not mean it the way you perceived it.
I have been offended by people’s stereotyping of the white male. I don’t run around complaining to HR or anyone, I let them know their stereotype might just be wrong. Some folks call everyone ‘sweetie’ or ‘hunny’ cause that is how they are. If you don’t like it, share it with them … I know I have. I also have just let it run off my back because I don’t (or maybe don’t want to) take it wrong.
Now yes, there are racists out there. There are malicious individuals out there. But to paint all people as bad until proven innocent … sorry, that is a sad life some people lead.
@Sarah-
From Merriam-Webster: racism:
“a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”
From Sarah:
“White people are less capable of recognizing racism”
Hmm…
So, because your perceived something as racist when it was benign, that makes it racist? Wow. I cannot believe there are people like this out there.
Parent:
I’m not suggesting that white men shouldn’t speak and interact. White men can and do have good relationships with all kinds of different people. But it’s also important to LISTEN. And when it comes to matters of racism, white people should take more of a listening role, because we are not the ones experiencing racism. Maybe we white people should focus on learning why a comment was hurtful, and less on our intentions.
It’s good to talk with people directly about something that offends you, but workplace dynamics can be tricky, and HR is there to help navigate that. Especially in an exchange where one person had a very negative experience, and the other person is clueless.
I hear you on the stereotypes about white men. It’s never fun to be pigeon-holed. But it’s just not the same experience that people of color have with racist stereotypes – there isn’t the same history of discrimination and personal pain. I genuinely think we’re kidding ourselves to compare them. It makes sense that you would find it easier to speak up.
How do you feel about Jewish white men Sarah? Please I’m dying to hear..maybe it’s time for bored, unattractive, old, bitter liberal white women to sit down. Stop trying to rescue people who didn’t ask for your help and worry about yourself. Maybe it’s time YOU LISTEN.
Ancient’ Fair point. But, what happens when I clap him on the OTHER shoulder that is NOT sunburned, but he says that I clapped him on the sunburned one. THAT is what most so called racist comments are nowadays. It is more about people FEELING that a comment is racist rather than it actually being racist. But, you example has merits and sometimes that DOES happen.
“white people should take more of a listening role, because we are not the ones experiencing racism” @Sarah Really?! Just because YOU haven’t experienced racism as a damn white person doesn’t mean others haven’t. Are you kidding me? I certainly have and know of other white people who have also. Get off your high horse! Oh and by the way, racism exists in EVERY race!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I’m dead. My god this is hilarious. Thank you Claycord best laugh in a while.
This makes a lot of sense to me! I support the idea of working to address racism in our cities. I think cooperating together on the city level with this task force could be a productive way to undo some of the racism we live with. But of course we need people of color on such a panel! They should be running the show on this issue. Seems like a good call – just hope the task force goes forward in November.
White people cancelling white people for being too white. The left will eat their own haha.
Exactly!
For anyone missing the point here..THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH BLACK PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THIS IS AN ISSUE TO FILL THE SOPTS. This is clearly an attempt by old white liberals to paint a picture of Martinez as racist. NEWS FLASH IT BACKFIRED BECAUSE RACISM IS NOT AN ISSUE IN OUR COMMUNITY. I’m sure this leads back to our fine Soros funded DA. Go fly a kite jackwads.
No one is oppressed in this country. Oppression in this country is a state of mind (victim mentality). I wish these white liberals from the burbs would get a life.
We have millions of successful minorities from doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, former president etc…
The only person holding you back in this country is the person looking back at you in the mirror.
They want to make sure we are all hyper aware of race and racial tensions. Their biggest nightmare is a workplace or social gathering where people of all races mingle, laugh, and have a good time. Where a black resident can go to their white neighbor’s house for a cup of sugar without thinking twice about it and vice versa. There is no useful political wedge of hatred and resentment to be had there, no reason for THEM and their power. No, they need racial divisions, they need us to eye each other with suspicion, for “POCs” to see their white fellow countrymen as oppressors instead of neighbors, for white people to fear being rattled out to the diversity Gestapo for not being aware of the newest “microaggression.”
While there may be some genuine good intentions behind stuff like this, nothing good will ever come of it.
Right on the money Sam !
“Too many White people”. Insert any other race or group of people and you’d have uproar.
Don’t spend your money in Martinez. That city doesn’t need more tax dollars to waste.
Well my suggestion is to force out all those racist, complaining privileged white people from their homes in Martinez and force people of color in place of them. I’m sure they’re considering this..
Right on, ZZ!!
Look what happen with that unlawful squatting of that vacant property in Oaktown by those miscreants blacks. Libby Schaaf probably negotiated behind the scenes with the property owner and capitulated to those miscreants to avoid further unwarranted bad publicity for the property. DiBlasio, Becton, Cuomo, ad nauseum are from the same pot!
Perhaps there weren’t any individuals of different race that wanted to accept the position?
LOL
According to 2019 US Census statistics the racial make up Martinez (not counting mixed, Native American and Pacific Islanders, is White 75.3%, Latino 17.5%, Asian 9.2% and Black 3.5%. Of a total of 11 persons (9 full members and 2 alternates) the most accurate reflection of their community’s racial make up would be 8 Whites, 2 Latinos and 1 Asian. Since 3.5 % of 11 is only .385 (not much more than a third of a person) they could be inclusive and let one of the White slots become a Black slot. That’s fair, if you believe ALL lives matter. To me, this is all a lot of BS because real diversity has nothing to do with the color of a person’s skin. It has to do with the content of our character. If all you look at is a person’s color, you will never get beyond racist thinking.
LOLOLOL! This is too funny!
Martinez voters need to elect, a designated ADULT.
@OG
do doubt, clearly a case of too many children without adult supervision
… “yes of course people can make offensive and racist comments without intending any harm” wow, you need help!
Listen up, Clayton city council, because it also seems you’re heading in this direction and it’s totally ridiculous. All you have to do is pay attention to what Mike above wrote, which in a nutshell is,
It’s not about the color of our skin, but rather the content of our character.
I live on the fringe of Clayton and it appears to have a high population of blacks! Well, if Concord isn’t in the toilet already it will be next along with Clayton. Walnut Creek is already there with that liberal Mayor and weak PD chief! Lafayette and Orinda also in that same predicament! Next!??
What they are really saying is their task force doesn’t have any ‘Street Cred”.
Maybe they need to emulate Seattle and hire a “Street Czar” instead. Seattle Mayor Jeanne Durkan put a gentleman of color on salary for $150K. They don’t really say exactly what he is supposed to do. He does seem quite angry however. Maybe that’s part of the street cred thing.
Wokeness is mostly an upper-class white phenomenon, so this isn’t very surprising. Its the least self-aware social movement I’ve ever heard of.
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Haha.
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That’s frickin’ hilarious!
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Maybe Martinez should annex some minorities.
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I will volunteer if I can be compensated for having frozen water bottles, feces, spittle, and rocks striking me! And compensation for graffiti removal on my property and auto repair(s)!!!
Plagarizing an acronym: B-I-D-E-N: Biggest Idiot Democrats Ever Nominated!
How about starting a more urgently needed task force like upgrading their aging drinking water pipes.
What a great example of the stupidity ingrained in this type of movement. I literally laughed out loud. Thanks for the chuckle.
Also, just for fun, I did a little research online and found a pdf of the application form. It says, “Selection will be made without discrimination based on the race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation of the applicant.”
Technically they did follow that by skipping to judging applicants by their shade of skin, which wasn’t on the list.
So what good is this “council” if the app is racist in itself??!! IDIOCY!
Well….. whatever they do, they should put an Asian guy in charge.
Unless it’s that annoying girl with the megaphone.
This is about race, not gender….. don’t tell me some of them have to be women!
What waste of bandwidth! Is Soros(again!!) and Becton pushing this crap uphill??
This is unbelievable crap to populate CLAYCORD! I do not live in MRTZ but Contra Costa does affect me as I live in CNCD. This kind of BS will ultimately become part of CoCo County. The designation of CNCD as a sanctuary city is repugnant!! I hate to drive into another state and have to look over my shoulder alot because my vehicle plates are CALIFORNIA.
Looks like they have enough Black people in Martinez for a quorum.
Actually their city council doesn’t sound any swifter than WCs.
Wow
Just wow
People crawling over themselves to be owned by marxists
Since when did the notion of common sense and respecting others go over everyone’s heads
People are going out of their way to be either overly critical admittedly
Or out of their way to ruin society as a whole and burn their constitutional rights to boot
Look if you want to find the root of the imposed racism
Just watch what any democrat politician says about American citizens
Seriously if you want to spread hate at everyone who looks your way
Your going to be really busy for the rest of your years
I mean what do you want next to be able to read peoples minds
So you can tell all your friends online that some jerk thought your dress looked to fancy to be grabbing a hot dog from a cart so he must be racist
You know who’s racist
Look it up check out any communist Or socialist country And their traditional actions
Oooops your trying to make America a socialist racist country by following politicians agendas instead of thinking and acting as a free American citizen
If you continually spend all your time looking for something
You eventually get tunnel vision and perceive that what you do not see
Stop trying to see and create hate and it will eventually be called what it is
Ignorant and go away from me if you feel that way
Put it back where it belongs
amongst a few people
With no good outlook of their future
Do you wear blue or red
Well you must be in a gang right
Stop instilling hate and aggression everywhere you look
There is a good chance if you smile at someone
You will get a smile back
The democrat politicians want chaos and division
If you really want to end perceived racism tell the politicians to cut it out
Then the media will stop and then the imbedded democrat band wagoners running every dem tax sucking program will stop
Including principals at schools and their staff
Together this country stopped a hate monger in the 1940’s
Let’s work toward seeing American citizens on our streets rather than fear
End the terrorism of fear
This is America
We the people have freedom to stop the government
of this state at least
from putting us against each other like bully’s pushing the 2 weak kids to fight on the playground
Be proud not a pawn of the takeover
America is the stand alone country for freedom
Let’s keep it that way
Then we all win
Including those coming through legalized immigration yearly
to escape what the democrats are trying to do to this country
AMEN!
People, you are all missing the point. The city is putting together a diversity panel. The panel should reflect the diversity in the city. Each ethnicity should be represented according to their percentage of the entire population. People of all ethnicities should have to learn to get together within the confines of the city. None of these ethnicities should be over-represented. All voices should be heard.
No….. I get the point. You are saying the color of a person’s skin makes a difference…. the way they will act & think is based on their race…. white folks just don’t get it.
Personally I think Liberals are the most racist people on the planet.
Sarah, regarding your comment to
BDML.
You are contradicting yourself.
You state that there are a million scenarios and “people of color” should not have to deal with them. Then you proceed to lump all white people in together by inferring that only white people throw out these offensive statements? (Why not ALL people or are you maybe just a little racist?)
You are also assuming that our original poster “Tisk” is in fact a person of color. Just maybe why couldn’t Tisk be white and maybe it was a person of color that made the remark. (There’s actually less follow up on those types of comments in the workplace)
My wife was walking in Sun Valley Mall with our two year old grandson and a nicely dressed black guy walks by them with his wife. He looks down and says to my wife ” Looks like another ugly white kid to me”.
Of course she had nothing to say. She couldn’t believe she heard it.
So just who does my wife report that racist comment too?
Your dilemma will never be solved as long as you keep it black and white.
I like MIKES comment below. it’s not about color it’s about character.
I will also assume you would consider yourself Woke? In your wokeness I would appear white to you. What you don’t see it that I am Irish before I am white. Have you ever seen the walls in Ireland separating “whites”? It’s not about color (as Mike stated) . It’s about character, beliefs, accountability and responsibility.
When you begin to understand that you are part of the problem only then will you begin to help us all heal.
Suggestion:
Instead of listening to Robin DiAngelo’s infomercial on White Fragility check out Denzel Washington’s motivational speeches to graduating college students. They will give you a hint on how to succeed with (and through) life.
Hypocrisy is the currency of democrats. Unfortunately they are to blinded by all the apoplectic seething to figure it out. It’s comical these days.
After the George Floyd incident and the societal response, I asked a black friend what his thoughts were on the situation and they aligned exactly with mine: The treatment of George Floyd was inexcusable, but that the problems in the black community are not a result of racism; but rather the culture and behavior of some within that community.
It’s unfortunate that the Marxist race-baiters want to promote inter-racial strife and convincing the black community that they are victims of society and incapable of succeeding on their own.
What a horrific waste of taxpayer dollars. As a colored person, I think just wishy mothers would not completely fail to raise their sons without the help of a father. Broken homes produce criminals, and the welfare state has been destroying the nuclear family for decades, encouraging women to divorce their men or never marry them in the first place, since they know the state will pay for their children.
Also as a colored person, if black people would not commit over 50% of all violent crimes, then they would not be in dangerous contact with police so much. The black community needs to address its own issues and take responsibility for its own failings. No other community gets to blame their dysfunction on white people, why do blacks?
How does the phrase “People Of color” grab you?? I detest it because (1)I do not like being lumped into that generalization and (2) the phrase itself is racist!! So, how can these so-called Progressive Liberals can scream and file lawsuits for racialdiscrimination??
What does that tell you. My best Bankers as a Leader and Manager were Black. But, what the DA isn’t getting and there’s a reason she’s still not a Judge, is “people” of any color have to “want to participate”…..They have to want to take part, be encouraged positively, not negatively. Hate is hate no matter the color Judge.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Martinez was:
White: 75.30%
Asian: 9.22%
Two or more races: 6.06%
Other race: 5.48%
Black or African American: 3.52%
Native American: 0.35%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.07%
Now this is funny!! I laughed out loud when I read this headline.
Yeah, that’ll be a NO on Prop 16.
hahahahahahahahahaaha hahahahahahahaahahahaha haahahahahahahahahaaha hahahahahahahaha
Epic
Too many White people so they’re kicking them off due to the color of their skin.
This is the Anti-Racism panel?
Hahaaaa – You can’t make this up!
What is it with liberals, they got Aunt Jemima, Cream of Wheat Chef, Mrs. Butterworth and Uncle Ben’s fired.
What’ll they think up for “woke” replacements for those iconic figures we grew up with.
They handled Hot Chocolate back in 2013.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/opinion-rich-lowry-obamacare-affordable-care-act-pajama-boy-an-insufferable-man-child-101304
They dont get it and your 100 per cent right. But someone said something that could be racist.
7 of 11 members. Amazingly all 7 were names Karen!
@Kenin
Lol.
I won’t be spending any money in Martinez….
Looks like affirmative action has already passed in some situations.
BFD….just let democrats fix this in the only way they know how……..throw more money at the problem.
“nuff said!
Hey Council, the taxpaying residents of Martinez have not authorized the spending for this task force. Put this on the ballot for residents to vote on. Or are you afraid your marxist ideologies will be nixed by the people you supposedly represent.
@Random Task
Another good post. Loved your first sentence.
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