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SALT LAKE CITY — Representatives from Utah’s minority communities shared stories this week addressing the injustices they’ve faced because of their race, providing Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and other policymakers with suggestions of how they can address racism in Utah.
The emergency meeting, which Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox asked to attend in light of the ongoing protests across the nation, was held by the state’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights and Multicultural Affairs commissions. Speakers shared stories for more than two hours, prompting Herbert to become openly emotional at the end.
“I know of my own limitations — my own shortcomings. I recognize a responsibility,” Herbert said as he wiped away tears. “I’m certainly an imperfect person. I have an awesome responsibility being the governor of this great state — a governor of all the people.”
Herbert and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights and Multicultural Affairs commissions released a joint statement Thursday expressing their grief for George Floyd’s “brutal and inhumane murder” as well as the many lives taken before him.
“We know that America’s ‘sin’ of racism is still too prevalent. People from marginalized communities who suffer everyday indignities and who now march to protest the deeply rooted historical and systemic oppression are looking to each of us to say in words and actions, ‘no more,’” the statement says. “The time to usher in change and healing is now. The time to learn from our history that tells a tale of a divided nation can guide us to do better and to fiercely work to achieve equity and inclusion in our policies and practices.”
A similar call to action arose from the meeting.
Herbert told listeners he was attending to mostly listen and learn., He described the tensions rippling across the nation as real and condemned the actions of the white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Herbert said he hopes conversations will provide an opportunity to address underlying racism in the state and learn what policymakers can do to be better.
“Let’s use this as an opportunity to have a good dialogue and discussion and to the extent that we can impact change, let’s not just talk about it,” Herbert said. “I think Utah can be a great example of how to do it correctly and lead other states in the nation in healing some of these wounds that have been opened up again here recently.”
I’m certainly an imperfect person. I have an awesome responsibility being the governor of this great state — a governor of all the people.
–Gov. Gary Herbert
A recurring theme throughout the meeting was that the injustices and inequality black Americans face stretch back hundreds of years. While speakers noted their desire to work with policymakers to create lasting change, many noted words are not enough — a mistake, they said, that has echoed throughout the years as white leaders have made commitments to change and failed to follow through.
“My eyes are paying attention and I’m not only watching but I have an expectation that there will be a delivery of goods,” said Adrienne Andrews, a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission. “Promises have been made in the past, not necessarily by this administration but by other leaders, and the bill is due today.”
Andrews, who is also the Weber State University assistant vice president for diversity, told Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox that “words must move to action” if “tangible outcomes” are to be achieved. To that end, she said, “I’m interested in knowing what resources will be directed so these programs can exist.”
Andrews pointed to the state investing in programs to educate youth about racism as an example of one of the needs.
“Racism, hate, abuse is taught. It’s not something that people are born with,” she said. “How do we provide our educators with the tools they need to understand these concepts and the skills and capacities to work through them with the students in their classrooms?”
There also needs to be more black teachers and administrators in Utah, said Terri Hughes, a Weber State University student and member of the NAACP college division.
“We want to have a conversation here, but again we need to be having these conversations with our young people because it starts with us,” Hughes said. “When we don’t have the education systems, when we don’t have places to go, when we don’t have people that look like us in our communities, it’s hard for us to have hope.”
A number of speakers gave Herbert suggestions for police reform like de-escalation tactics, additional bias and diversity training, banning choke holds, holding police accountable for using deadly force on an unarmed person and the implementation of an officer database to track “bad cops.”
Speakers urged policymakers to continue having these conversations for years to come.
“The civil rights era lasted about 14 years,” said commission member Bridget Shears. “This is not going to stop. Your communities are going to be affected by this for a very long time.”
Betty Sawyer with the Ogden branch of the NAACP said Utah leaders need to put resources on the table because the work costs money.
“It’s time for you to do the heavy lifting on these issues of justice, equity, inclusive policies, having plans and holding every department in this government accountable,” Sawyer said. “We need a statewide diversity and inclusivity plan, but every department needs to have a plan. Every department. And they need to have to report out on that plan every year. Their budgets, their salaries, all of that need to be tied to it. We’ve got to stop giving people passes for what’s not happening in our communities.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Herbert said he needed time to go through his notes and requested another meeting be scheduled to create a plan.
“My commitment to you is that we are going to communicate better and understand each other better in ways we haven’t done in the past,” he told those in attendance. “This is not the end, this is really a new beginning — let’s call it. Whatever the catalyst has been for it I’m glad for it.”
The joint statement released Thursday built on this, saying leaders look forward to advancing efforts for change and “creating a Utah where families of all races and backgrounds feel safe, heard and valued.”
