For a more detailed explanation of why we are advocating for these changes, please read below:
Problem Statement
Despite progress in many areas, racism persists in Lake Oswego and Oregon, manifesting in various forms such as systemic discrimination, implicit bias, and racial disparities in
opportunities and outcomes. This perpetuates a cycle of inequality, marginalization, and injustice that undermines the well-being and cohesion of the community.
Specifically, community members of color who come to RtR events continue to report being subject to constant microaggressions and having a lack of spaces to safely gather and build community with each other, with the few that exist facing hostility from white community members and lack of tangible support from Lake Oswego
institutions. While the City of Lake Oswego’s current DEI goals provide a baseline for recognizing DEI as a City value, they don’t address these deeper issues facing communities of color in LO. The current City goals for DEI read as follows:
“Continue efforts related to DEI, including: prioritize equity in the delivery of
city services; formalize a translation and interpretation policy; explore a partnership with LOSD to host an annual event welcoming new residents to the city; and provide information on how to engage and ways to access services and programs.”
Solution
Respond to Racism proposes updating the City’s DEI goals to include:
1) Develop an antiracism action plan guided by the
priorities identified in a survey of Lake Oswego community members of color. In order to better serve communities of color, the City of Lake Oswego needs more data on these community members’ experiences, priorities and quality of life. At the present moment, discussions on progress, especially regarding antiracism, are almost exclusively anecdotal and guided disproportionately by public figures. Working with community partners like Respond to Racism and utilizing the model of reports
like the Coalition of Community of Color’s Cultivating Belonging in Clackamas County, for which the City of Lake Oswego provided funding support, the City can address this data gap and inform its antiracism practices from a community-centered approach.
2) Create a designated multicultural space in a City of Lake Oswego facility for shared use by organizations serving community members of color. Ray Oldenburg’s book Celebrating
the Third Place: Inspiring Stories about the “Great Good Places” (2002) described the concept of third spaces - places that allow for people to gather and create a sense of community but that are not the home (first space) or work (second space). Conversations with Lake Oswego’s BIPOC community members since the beginning of Respond to Racism inform our conclusion that third spaces for these communities are not readily available in our area. A recent research justice study completed by the
Coalition of Communities of Color in 2024, Cultivating Belonging in Clackamas County, (available at https://www.coalitioncommunitiescolor.org/cultivatingbelonging) came to the same conclusion - there is a lack of spaces in Clackamas County for BIPOC communities to share histories, experiences, and desires for the future
and more opportunities are needed to build long-term partnerships with institutions that can support cultural events. Designating a shared multicultural space in a City facility (i.e. the Library or new Recreation Center) where community based organizations can hold space for communities of color would go a long way towards intentionally creating the missing third space for the BIPOC community in Lake Oswego. The outcome of this work will be a better connected and supported community that can
advocate for system changes.
3) Provide and widely publicize community education on microaggressions, including through community events, publicly available education materials and other public-facing City communications. One of the most consistent obstacles to mental wellbeing and general quality of life that community members of color report to RtR is being subject to constant microaggressions, which are defined as indirect, subtle, or
unintentional acts of discrimination against members of a marginalized group (Oxford Dictionary). For example, City Council member Massene Mboup recently commented during a recent City Council Candidate Forum that he is often mistaken for “the driver” by white community members even though he sits on City Council and serves as Executive Director of the International Leadership Academy. Since these acts are more subtle, they aren’t treated with the seriousness of more overt acts of racism, yet
they can have a devastating effect on people’s sense of belonging and psychological well being. Increasing investment in community education, both in the form of in-person and virtual workshops, as well as passive methods of consumption (i.e. videos, social media posts, City messaging, etc.) will go a long way towards actively creating a culture of belonging.
Outcomes
Through our proposals for the City of Lake
Oswego’s 2025 Goals, Respond to Racism aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- Increased racial equity and inclusivity in Lake Oswego and Oregon.
- Reduction in racist attitudes, behaviors, and disparities.
- Strengthened community resilience and social cohesion.
- Empowered individuals and institutions committed to anti-racism.
- Creation of a more just and equitable society for residents of all races and ethnicities.
- Passage of public
policies that specifically address racial disparities and serve the specific needs of communities of color.
- Increased presence of leaders of color and groups led by communities of color with a commitment to anti-racism.
Submit your input to the city at www.ci.oswego.or.us/formslf/CouncilGoals.
