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ANTI-RACISM INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT Institutional History 1849–2006

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ANTI-RACISM INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT Institutional History 1849–2006 ANTI-RACISM INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT Institutional History 1849–2006 Presented by the Ramsey County Anti-Racism Leadership Team February 2008 Ramsey County Community Human Services - 2013 Table of Contents Preface . 1 Introduction . 1 The Mission Statement of the Anti-Racism Leadership Team . 3 The Vision Statement of the Anti-Racism Leadership Team . 3 History Document Introduction . 4 The Homework Assignment: Exploring Institutional History Introduction . 5 Exploring Institutional History . 6 Original Purpose of the Institution’s Mission, Worldview and Culture . 6 Organizational Structure, Boundaries, Authority, Accountability and Power . 6 Building the Institutional Walls of Racial Exclusion / Segregation . 6 Communication Over the Walls of Exclusion (into the 1960’s) . 7 Institutional Changes (1970 to present) . 7 Ramsey County: How It Was Formed . 8 Turn Of The Century Social Conditions and Political Realities In America . 10 Snapshot of American History for People of Color: The Progressive Era. 11 American Indians: Discrimination 1895 to 1920 . 11 Health and Mortality. 12 Injustices of Law Enforcement / Justice System . 12 African Americans: Discrimination from 1895 to 1920 . 13 Health and Mortality . 14 Injustices of Law Enforcement / Justice System . 14 Mexican Americans: Discrimination 1895 to 1920 . 15 Racial Violence . 17 Injustices of Law Enforcement / Justice System. 17 Chinese Americans: Discrimination 1895 to 1920 . 17 Racial Violence . 18 Injustices of Law Enforcement / Justice System . 18 Introduction: A Limited Chronological Review. 20 Chronological Review of the Social Conditions, Legislative Impact, and Changes in Ramsey County Community Human Service Development through 2006 . 20 References . 30 Ramsey County Community Human Services - 2013 Preface This report is the work of the Ramsey County Anti Racism Leadership Team: 2005/06 members: Hassan Ali, (Susan Ault ’07), (Gayle Carter ’08), Sue Cha, (Marisol Chiclana-Ayala ‘06), (Nancy Cincotta ‘06), Richard Coleman, Deb Flies, Carol Fogarty, (Tammy Funk ‘07), Katherine Harp (unable to participate – slot left vacant ‘06), (Ophelia Herrera ’07), (Thom Johnson ’07), Jules Laing, Monty Martin, (Jen McConnell ’06), Roz McDonald, (Tiffinie Miller ’07), (Carrie (Morris) Owens ’06), (Frank Sanchez ‘06), Toua Thao, (My- Tien Ton ’07), Stephanie Upchurch, Darryl Walker, Angela (Weaver) Conrath, Youa Yang, Angela Yeong. 2006/07 new members: PaDer Vang, Jonna Shelomith, Kim Gale, Jim Anderson, Nancy Houlton, (Gail Mollner ’07), Roy Adams, and Cam Counters. 2007/08 new members: Stephani Gunter, Steve Hildebrandt, Jackie Meyer, Mary Nelson, Saba Teshome, Caroline Wulf and Stephanie Xiong (unable to participate – slot left vacant ‘08). We want to express our thanks to James Addington, Carmen Valenzuela, and Jeff Agaton-Howes of the Minnesota Collaborative Anti-Racism Initiative (MCARI) for the excellent training, guidance and vision needed to move our work forward. We are also grateful for the support and endorsement of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and Ramsey County Manager, Dave Twa. And finally, we could not have done this work without the sacrifices, commitment, growth and outstanding research completed by the 2005-2006 Anti-Racism Leadership Team Members. Thank you. We are aware of how much is not included in this report and apologize for any errors or omissions of historical fact. We believe that we have included the key learnings about the shaping of Ramsey County Human Services with respect to race and racism. February 2008 Note: Names indicated in parentheses, are those whose terms with ARLT have expired (year indicated) or members have left for other reasons. 1 Introduction In 1999, Paul Kirkwold, County Manager for Ramsey County met with County staff and shared his vision of The Ramsey County Model Employer Initiative. As Mr. Kirkwold was preparing to move into retirement, he made an insightful and profound observation regarding the changing demographics of Ramsey County. He indicated that Ramsey County was becoming increasingly diverse and more and more of it’s citizens no longer resembled him, a “white male”. Mr. Kirkwold believed that if we, as a public government agency wished to continue to deliver meaningful and effective services for the changing population that we would have to plan for and change how we attracted and maintained a diverse workforce and provided culturally competent services to our constituents. RCCHS began to take a critical look at service outcomes for clients we served and the retention rates for employees of color. Upon further analysis, a clear pattern of disparate outcomes began to unfold. Clientele of color in a variety of service areas were either overrepresented or underrepresented, and frequently experienced less positive outcomes than their white counterparts. A similar pattern was true for employees of color. While on one hand there was a significant increase in the hiring of persons of color over the past few years, the retention rates for employees of color raised questions that need to be explored. Employees of color were exiting agency employment at rate 17% greater than their white colleagues. In 2002, RCCHS senior management formed five Action Teams. These were the 1) Contracting, 2) Leadership, 3) Training, 4) Recruitment and Retention, and 5) Hiring Action Teams. The purpose of these teams was to research issues and causes of concerns, and to recommend corrective actions in these areas to improve the disparate outcomes for clients and staff. In 2004, RCCHS began working with the Minnesota Collaborative Anti-Racism Initiative (MCARI). After department-wide training aimed at increasing the understanding of racism, twenty-five staff from across all work levels of the Human Services Department were interviewed and selected to begin leading this endeavor. In May 2005, the newly formed team experienced a number of intensive training experiences to learn common language and gain necessary skills to do this work as the Ramsey County Anti-Racism Leadership Team (ARLT). The purpose of this team is to coordinate and direct the agency’s efforts in becoming an anti-racist, multicultural organization. The team is also charged with the development of a 20-25 year strategic plan to dismantle institutional racism within our agency and the community we serve. The following historical audit is the result of extensive research by the Team and helps us understand how Ramsey County Human Services came to be the organization that it is. To effectively dismantle institutional racism, it is imperative to understand the history, social forces, conditions, and factors that underlie the development of the agency. 2 The Mission Statement of the Anti-Racism Leadership Team: “Recognize racism in our institution and implement a transformational strategy for change” The Vision Statement of the Anti-Racism Leadership Team: “Ramsey County Human Services will be an anti-racist, multicultural organization” 3 History Document Introduction So, why was this Institutional History and limited chronology written? The Anti-Racism Leadership Team (ARLT) had to do some homework to understand, and to be able to explain, how the Ramsey County Welfare Department (known today as Ramsey County Community Human Services Department) came to be. Who decided it was needed and why, and who was it designed to serve? It seems like a simple and obvious answer doesn’t it? But when you begin to look back and really begin to understand how and why “welfare” came to be, the simple and obvious answer takes on a tone and systematic intention that is very sobering and is less than honorable. A colleague on the ARLT observed, “The welfare system has really created a way to keep poor people poor. A way to control and have power over the people that society fears.” Given what we have learned doing this homework assignment, the researching and exploring our own agencies “construction”, maybe this statement is not really too far off base. While this history is not an exhaustive documentation, the ARLT believes that sufficient research and man-hours have been invested to provide a glimpse into the social welfare mechanism that has been constructed so that we can begin to make some individual choices: . You can ignore this information and “keep-on keepin’-on”; OR . You can join in making intentional changes within our agency. 4 The Homework Assignment: Exploring Institutional History Introduction At the conclusion of the Antiracism Leadership Teams initial 3-day training with the Department’s consultants, MCARI, in May 2005 the group was charged with a homework assignment. The following pages provide the reader with the homework questions and the groups’ answers. Our answers were found as we explored the Department’s genesis and documented those finding in the History given in following pages. Even with that information, these answers did not come easily – the team spent many meetings discussing, digesting, and coming to terms with the magnitude of the questions. The process took us places you never thought you would visit with your co-workers. We argued, we discussed, we cried, we laughed and we became a stronger, more committed team, as we began to see each other as distinct individuals who’s skin color was a mere introduction to the person within. That’s why it took until February 2007 to pull this document together – we pulled ourselves apart and put us back together, and began to understand. 5 Exploring Institutional History Original Purpose, Structure and Constituency Based
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