‘Black Lives Matter’ street art approved
City claims it has right to reject others
The Vallejo City Council approved the painting of the words “Black Lives Matter” on Santa Clara Street in front of City Hall.
In a 5-2 vote Tuesday night — Hakeem Brown and Rozzana Verder-Aliga dissented — cleared the way for the painting of the phrase, used to emphasize human rights and equality for Black citizens.
“I definitely had to give it some real thought because, obviously, I do believe we need to do more to show awareness about racism and inequality in our community,” Brown said by phone Wednesday.
However, simply painting Black Lives Matter “is empty platitudes with zero action. It only makes it worse in my opinion,” Brown said. “I just really feel that before we paint something on the street, we need to show the community we’re serious about closing the education gap, creating livable wage jobs, building more housing and police reform. Until we do those things, this is just an empty gesture and sends the wrong message.”
Brown added that he believes “those who voted ‘yes’ did so with good intentions. But the Black community wants to see action, not murals and painting Black Lives Matter. The fact not
much has been done to address the (aforementioned) issues, it shows a real disconnect with the Black community at-large.”
Verder-Aliga agreed with Brown that a Black Lives Matter sign is a “hollow gesture if we do not have a plan to address the racial equity and systemic racism in our city, locally, and nationally. I recognize Councilman Brown’s position as an elected Black leader in our city and someone who has been very vocal in talking about these very important issues. I also understand that there are other community members in our city that may disagree with this point of view. However, he speaks from his own personal experience and can relate to the challenges and realities that brown, Black, LGBTQ and other marginalized communities also have experienced.”
As city leaders, “we need to develop a strategy to address issues of equity, inclusion, access to affordable housing, livable wage jobs and safe neighborhoods sooner than later,” VerderAliga added.
Mayor Bob Sampayan and Councilmembers Hermie Sunga, Katie Miessner, Robert McConnell and Pippin Dew approved of the sign.
“There is no disputing that racial inequities exist in our community,” Dew said. “Making this statement is one of many more actions that need to take place to raise awareness in the community of the issues we need to need address.”
Dew said the “next step we take is to commission equity indicators report, similar to what the City of Oakland did in 2018. The mayor expressed his support of that action and requested that it be agendized at a near future meeting.”
Sampayan supports the sign “because it was asked for by the community — by an African-American woman who truly believed that Black Lives Matter. Her comments to me were powerful, were meaningful and I believe that we as a council showed that we believe in what she had to say.”
Sampayan said he “disagrees” that one can’t support Black Lives Matter and local law enforcement.
“Blue (police) lives matter as much as I believe Black lives matter. As a person who believes in the sanctity of life, we should celebrate all lives,” Sampayan said.
Several council members voiced concern at a previous council meeting that the sign would open up city streets to various organizations under “free speech,” also called “private speech.”
The First Amendment does not allow the city to regulate opposing viewpoints for private speech.
However, city attorney Randy Risner surmised that if the city council requested the city manager and staff to paint the mural with the city’s paint and at the city’s cost with the city manager having the final design approval, then the city would be displaying “government speech” rather than “private speech.”
Sampayan said it’s undetermined if the Black Lives Matter street mural will have an expiration date.
“We need to establish a policy,” the mayor said.
The cost of paint and labor to put “Black Lives Matter” on the street has yet to be determined.
“There is no disputing that racial inequities exist in our community. Making this statement is one of many more actions that need to take place to raise awareness in the community of the issues we need to need address.”
— Pippin Dew