City to review role in historic events

Mayor makes plan in wake of deadly Virginia protest over removal of Confederate monument

Mayor Javier Gonzales, saying he wants to build on the momentum of a Plaza rally against racism, announced a plan Thursday to review the city’s involvement in celebrations of historic events, including the annual Fiesta de Santa Fe.

In a statement, Gonzales said he would instruct City Manager Brian Snyder to compile a report on city-supported events and organizations that celebrate or recognize historic events and people. City spokesman Matt Ross said such an inventory would include long-running summer art markets, Zozobra and Fiesta de Santa Fe.

The city manager also will review historic memorials, monuments and markers on city property. Gonzales said he wants to include a process for public comment on the review.

The city manager, according to Gonzales’ statement, will be asked to deliver the report or a timeline for a report within 30 days. The City Council will then act on the findings of the report.

What actions might be taken are unclear, but Gonzales’ statement references the approaching Fiesta, which has drawn increasingly boisterous protests in recent years. Critics of the event have accused it of glorifying or whitewashing the killing of Native American people by the Spanish.

Gonzales said the community has a “responsibility to learn about — and learn from — the complex histories in our community.”

He said Indian voices must be heard, and he added that he plans to continue leader-to-leader dialogue with nearby pueblos.

“I believe we can be a leader in racial healing and transformation towards a more unified city, but it will take more than a mayor or City Council,” Gonzales said. “It will take our entire community coming together.”

Hundreds of people attended the anti-racism rally Tuesday, which was in response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., sparked by a rally of white supremacists.