Black leaders group presents list of demands to local elected officials
Leaders from Black Leaders in Action & Solidarity in Thurston County (BLAST) delivered a list of demands for racial justice at a press conference on Friday morning on the lawn of the YWCA building at Union Avenue and Franklin Street.
BLAST has been a key player in the ongoing movement for racial justice in Olympia and has organized a number of protests since the killing of George Floyd in May. The group also met with local elected officials last month.
“It is often stated that within these movements there are no clear solutions or policy positions presented,” said Ty Brown, who is also a community organizer with Washington Community Action Network. “BLAST, with this press release, would like to present demands that come from Black voices that have been on the ground and active within our community.”
BLAST shared a nine-page document elaborating on the demands and prescribing actions local officials can take. The document was sent to Olympia City Council on June 23.
“A month later, the only progress we’ve seen has been lip service,” Brown said.
BLAST’s full list of demands:
Divest from police and prisons and reinvest in community-based programs.
“Adopt and align” with the federal Justice in Policing Act of 2020 and Washington state Initiative 940.
Remove school resource officers from public schools.
Fire the officers involved in the 2015 shooting of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin, and the response to the death of Yvonne McDonald, as well as officer Kellie Hull, who was accused of making a threatening remark during a protest arrest; resignation of coroner and city prosecutor involved in McDonald case and release records to Talauna Reed, McDonald’s niece.
Enact a “good cause” eviction and “non-possessory” bill.
Investigate links between armed right-wing militias and OPD; remove City Manager Jay Burney for not holding OPD “accountable for conflicts of interest” with militias.
Replace the city’s proposed Human Rights Commission with a “Reconciliation and Oversight” board headed by marginalized people.
Housing measures
The two renter protections proposed by BLAST are a “good cause” eviction and “non-possessory” ordinance.
“Good cause” or “just cause” eviction ordinances, which have been enacted by the cities of Seattle, Burien, and Federal Way in recent years, would protect month-to-month renters from being served with a 20-day vacate notice. Washington state law allows landlords to terminate month-to-month leases without giving a reason. If the tenant does not leave within 20 days, the landlord can initiate the eviction process.
In May, Olympia’s Home Fund manager presented a code amendment to the Land Use and Environment Committee, but it has not yet been presented to the City Council.
Currently, Gov. Jay Inslee’s recently renewed statewide eviction moratorium prevents most evictions, except for in cases where a tenant presents a health or safety threat.
BLAST proposes that Olympia go further by enacting a “non-possessory” rent bill, which would mean that tenants cannot be evicted for rental debt accrued during the pandemic.
Inadequate steps
BLAST member Krystafer Brown said the demands are meant to spur urgent action on the part of local officials, whom she accused of “foot dragging and performative allyship.”
In June, Olympia City Council passed a ban on the use of chemical weapons against protesters, which was later amended to allow police to use tear gas and pepper spray against people committing acts of property destruction.
“For our electeds, you have the power to enact these demands, and doing so would help protect the most vulnerable people in this community,” Krystafer Brown said.
Lanessa Iman of the YWCA clarified that while the organization supports BLAST, the event did not “represent” the YWCA.
“These demands are only a basic start to the tip of the iceberg,” Ty Brown said.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 2:03 PM.
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