Published: July 14, 2020
Words are not enough, but they are a start. This morning at
the beginning of our meeting, we took a unified stand in condemning the hateful
racist and sexist attack on County and local leaders that occurred recently
during an online community meeting to address homeless issues. At a time
when we are working to build up our community and assist our most vulnerable
residents, these cowardly hidden individuals sought to divide us and undermine
our commitment for change. They will not succeed. This attack, which included
violent, sexist and racist images, was hurtful and underscored recent attention
of how very far we have to go as a society and community to address systemic
racism. Our hearts go out especially to our employees and community
members of color who were targets of the attack. We want to assure all
employees of our commitment to a safe and inclusive workplace environment, free
from racism, overt or otherwise.
Sonoma County is not the first area to be the target of
these kinds of digital terrorist acts. Nonetheless, whether this happens in
1,000 communities or just one, the truth is the same – there is no place for
this kind of racist and abhorrent attack in modern society. We are encouraged
to hear that Santa Rosa police are investigating this intrusion for what it
clearly was - a hate crime.
We stand with all citizens of Sonoma County, particularly
our Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous and Asian residents as well as members
of our LGBTQI community who are too often targets of discrimination. What we
cannot begin to condemn strongly enough in words, we must demonstrate in our
actions, as a county, to build a better community grounded in equity, empathy
and justice.
Thank you for your efforts in helping us move forward on all
of these fronts.
Sincerely,
Supervisor Susan Gori,
Chair, Board of Supervisors
Supervisor Lynda Hopkins,
Vice Chair
Supervisor James Gore
Supervisor David Rabbitt
Supervisor Shirlee Zane