On Tuesday, during the Brentwood Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion (DEBI) meeting, the committee received an update on Juneteenth and agreed to begin looking into a pride celebration.
Under direction of the committee, they recommended going before the full council to create a community exhibition area for different cultural events while also bringing a pride celebration to the city of Brentwood–including seeking funding.
The DEBI committee was looking into developing a Cultural Event Programs to celebrate the diverse heritage of the Brentwood community and workforce, foster inclusivity and belonging, and promote social engagement. In addition to the Juneteenth Celebration, other events that may be considered are:
- Black History Month (February)
- Women’s History Month (March)
- Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) (May)
- Pride Celebration (June)
- Disability Pride Month (July)
- Hispanic Heritage Celebration (September)
- Native American Heritage Recognition (November)
During the meeting, Pierson suggested they consider adding Diwali while noting they support other events that include:
- Multicultural Fair put on by Heritage High School students
- Lunar New Year Celebrations
- Hanukkah with the menorah in the park/celebration
- La Gran Fiesta
- Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead)
- Oktoberfest
“There are a lot of events that we currently support, and Juneteenth was recently added,” stated Pierson. “The ask is to get updates on the Juneteenth event but also to discuss the need for other events that we can possibly celebrate.”
Councilmember Faye Maloney called diversity “beautiful” and said Brentwood was a diverse place.
“I would love to see our community center, have a monthly exhibit being used for different cultural events,” said Maloney while sharing US Census data. “I think being aware of the cultural heritage that we have in Brentwood is imperative for us to foster that inclusivity.”
She called having educational exhibits within the community center to foster awareness and education about every single heritage in Brentwood was important for them to do.
“We have so many different cultures in Brentwood that we need to be a little bit more educational quite frankly before we celebrate anything because we need to learn about one another,” explained Maloney. “We need to be able to listen to understand and not to respond when hearing about the other cultures adversities and triumphs. To also be able to appreciate the country we are in now that is moving us forward. There is work to do but we need to move forward together as a community.”
She also said this wasn’t just about one or two groups.
“This idea out there that its only focused on one or two groups, we need to make sure we abolish that with the work that we are doing here. We are inclusive of everybody in our community,” stated Maloney. “Inclusivity of a whole of our community is vital for this to be successful.”
Pierson agreed, she liked the idea. Could send this to the Arts commission to place them both in the community center and senior center.
Juneteenth Update
Pierson requested an update on Juneteenth.
Stacey Dempsey, of Brentwood Parks and Recreation, said they were close to announcing their Juneteenth headliner with contracts currently being executed.
“We have a very exciting announcement about the headliner for Juneteenth, I am really excited about it,” stated Dempsey adding they are working on other behind the scenes items for the event. “We want to make sure its very impactful.”
She said within the next few weeks they will be making announcements for the event looking for vendors, arts and crafts and more—looking for non-profit and community organizations.
Dempsey confirmed they were still looking to have a “Freedom Walk” but will be meeting with the Downtown Brentwood Coalition in the next few weeks. She added that with the headliner they will have, the event will only be bigger. They are also working with Foodie Crew on food trucks. There will be a kids area and multiple performances from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
California Parks and Recreation Society – Award
Dempsey shared they submitted the Juneteenth event to the California Parks and Recreation Society for District 3, which they were notified last week they won an award, “Outstanding Jedi Program”.
Assistant City Manager Darin Gale confirmed after the meeting its anticipate the city will have a formal announcement in the coming weeks.
Pride Celebration
Pierson asked if a Pride Parade was considered this year which Dempsey stated the event had not yet been requested.
“I would like to see us have a pride celebration here in the city of Brentwood. That would be my proposal is we have a pride celebration,” stated Pierson noting they support other events. “That was the one thing that we tend to overlook and the LGBTQ+ community is constantly overlooked. With the spirit of everything now I would like to see us do something for pride. Flying a flag was just the first step, I think we could keep going.”
The item will return to the full city council to discuss directing staff to spend time on allocate funds for a pride celebration in the City of Brentwood while also creating community center exhibitions for different cultural events.
Meeting Tidbits
Chair of committee: Pa’tanisha Davis Pierson was appointed Chair of the committee. The scope of the DEBI committee is to create and develop a racial equity plan, an anti-racism and anti-hate crime policy, and provide annual Juneteenth celebration oversight, opportunities for community engagement and policy advisement, and metrics and accountability to measure goals.
Staff to develop an Anti-Racism Policy
The goal is to ensure that there is zero tolerance for racism and each individual has a right to work in a professional atmosphere that does not produce or sustain inequity among racial groups.
Pierson shared she would like to change this to an “anti-hate” policy and include national origin based on everything happening with immigration calling it a “big deal for us to put in national origin and ethnicity”. She urged the policy to be beefed up.
Updated policy could include ethnicity, national origin, LGBTQ+, disability, age and ability in addition to race. It will also include the word “discrimination”. It will be updated to an anti-hate and discrimination policy.
Flag Pole Policy
The goal is to ensure that all flags are visible from the street. The goal is to ensure that trees and other objects are not obstructing the street-view of the flags.
This item was brought up by Pierson noting the council discussed it two years ago along with the visibility of the flags. She explained even the American Flag, at half-staff, you can’t see it.
“The Pride Flag was not seen, so what is the point of doing it if you can’t see it. The prisoner of war flag is not seen,” said Pierson who said people don’t see what goes on behind the scenes when something is dragged on. “It’s been two years now… I feel like this is the only way to get it done because it needs to be visible. We were promised they would be moved.”
The reason for including a flagpole policy in with the flag policy is so flags are visible. The cost is estimated at $15-$20k to move the flag pole.
Previous Stories:
Check out was real simple, can't wait for the tote bag