Lack of school, council officials at Black forum a disappointment, Lacey commissioner says
Lacey’s Equity Commissioners, who sit on an advisory board created to help shape city policy, largely view their recent Black Forum as a success, but one commissioner is disappointed that key officials did not attend the gathering.
Others expressed concern about the venue for the event when the commission met Monday to discuss the forum. The Black and African American community forum was held last week at New Life Baptist Church in Lacey.
Commissioner Thelma Jackson said she is disappointed that Lacey City Council members and North Thurston Public Schools board members and administrators did not attend the meeting, although she acknowledged that some North Thurston employees were in attendance.
“It’s unfortunate that more elected people weren’t there to hear what Black citizens of Lacey had to say about living in the city and feeling included,” she said
Commissioner Annie Clay did not defend their decisions not to attend the forum, but she did say that as a white person, she wasn’t sure if she should attend, wanting to make sure the meeting was “super safe, with no conflict and no idea of judgment.”
“I just wanted it to be your space,” she said.
Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong reminded the equity commission that they are an advisory body of the city council. “You are working for the council and what you hear and bring back in front of the council is all part of the process,” she said.
The equity commission, too, received some written feedback, including a comment that expressed disappointment in holding the forum at a church.
Jackson said the meeting was in a space adjacent to the church sanctuary.
“It was not a religious gathering and it was not a secular gathering,” she said. “It had none of those implications.”
However, during last week’s forum, one person asked the group whether they should pray before the meeting started, but Jackson quickly cut him off. “No,” she said.
Commissioner Jon Hegwood, who identified himself as a “queer person of color,” said he and others in the community were concerned about what he called the “anti-transgender rhetoric” on the New Life Baptist Church website.
“As a commissioner, I can’t say I wasn’t hesitant in going in the first place,” he said. “I wanted to be there in solidarity but Baptist churches haven’t always been a safe place for me.”
Commissioner Alanis Blackburn asked him to cite what he was referring to on the website, and so he did. Under a section of the website called “What We Believe,” bullet point No. 19 begins with, “We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either male or female.”
Jackson again defended the use of the space next to the sanctuary, emphasizing that it had no association with church doctrine or beliefs. It came down to location, size, free parking and accessibility, she said.
“We have limited venues in the city of Lacey,” she said.
Hegwood acknowledged the importance of Black-led churches to the Black community, but said it’s also not a high bar to find one that doesn’t promote anti-trans rhetoric.
“It’s a great conversation for when we plan the next forum and consider new venues,” he said.
This story was originally published March 28, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
