Systemic racism focus of pledge

Council vows to promote equity in Saratoga Springs

In an effort to lead the city in blotting out systemic racism, the City Council unanimously vowed to “promote racial equity and fairness, and to eliminate discriminatory systems and practices.”

As part of the pledge, introduced by Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton, the all-white, five-member council also agreed “to develop and cultivate a diverse and inclusive culture that recognizes the strengths that come from giving everyone the opportunity to contribute, participate, grow and succeed.”

The pledge, crafted by a city community outreach committee, also insisted that the city’s elected officials “strive as a government to do what is right and just for all people.”

Committee Chair Shaun Wiggins, who at the meeting encouraged the council to agree to the pledge, said he realizes that passing a resolution “is a simple task.” The challenge, he said, will be “turning this into action.”

“The reality is if this is truly important to the city, there would be actions in place already. There are not,” said Wiggins, who is Black. The committee chairman is a former CIA operative and the owner of Soteryx Corp, a city-based risk management firm. “We hope to target concrete actions the city will adopt.”

Wiggins said the committee will recommend an increase in the diversity among city employees and those the city does business with.

“There is a state mandate that 30 percent of government contracts should be targeted to minority/women-owned businesses,” Wiggins said. “I’ve seen government contracts come and go in the city and I never heard mention about minority/women-owned businesses getting a play … This is about

stepping up and increasing the diversity here. We don’t feel the effort is there, frankly.”

But before any of that can happen, Wiggins said, city officials must acknowledge racism exists, thus the pledge.

“I’ve been here for nine years. I have had conversations with people who said there is no racism in Saratoga Springs. They were vehement about it,” Wiggins said. “I said, listen, I promise you there is racism. Now is this a major metropolitan city where it is rampant? No, but trust me, it does exist. The sense of this is you’ve got to get them to recognize that absolutely there is a problem and the problem must be resolved.”

Initially, the committee sought support for the pledge from the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership.

Chamber President Todd Shimkus said he never saw the pledge. Prosperity Partnership President and CEO Shelby Schneider said she supports anti-racism efforts, but that there was a “miscommunication between the volunteers on the committee” and the partnership regarding the pledge proposal.

Schneider said she would talk with Wiggins about it this week.

“If I sign off on this pledge, as a public organization that supports operational transparency it would need to be reviewed, discussed and considered at the board level,” Schneider said. “The only impediment to the process is the actual receipt of the pledge.”

Shimkus would not say if he would consider the pledge specifically. “I get lots of requests every day,” he said. “I consider all of them.”

Dalton formed the community outreach committee last spring after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, under the knee of a Minneapolis officer. She said the City Council passed a similar resolution after Donald J. Trump was elected president. That December 2016 resolution promised support for “mutual respect and unity.”

Dalton said the new pledge advanced that with a promise of “the unequivocal recognition of that fact that we may begin to address the problem together” and an understanding that “white privilege is not an insult, but a challenge.”

Dalton agreed with Wiggins that actions are essential.

“If nothing is done, then it’s another set of words. It’s meaningless,” Dalton said. “We want people to say, yes, there is racism and we will not stand back silently.”

Wiggins said that requires education. With that in mind, the committee has hosted a series of speakers to address issues of race.

The next speaker is Denee Mwendwa, a professor in the psychology department at Howard University, who has done research in health care disparities.

She will address bias and racism in health care in a community forum from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5, via Zoom.