HomeMy WebLinkAboutAshland City Council Meeting October 18 2022SERJAC Statement regarding racially motivated death threats to Nataki Garrett artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare FestivalAshland City Council Meeting, October 18, 2022
SERJAC Statement regarding racially motivated death threats to Nataki Garrett artistic director of the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival
The Social Equity and Racial Justice Committee of the City of Ashland (SERJ) joins with the Medford Mail
Tribune, Mayor Julie Akins, SOU, the dramatist’s guild and multiple other individuals and organizations to
condemn the abhorrent racist death threats suffered by Nataki Garrett. The threats to Ms. Garrett did not
happen in a vacuum. Nor is she the only victim. A black female OSF actor was targeted with specific racist
threats in 2017, causing her to fear walking in the railroad district, and requiring OSF to institute car shuttles
to get their black employees home safely after performances. Stops by police officers of black and Hispanic
OSF employees have been far too common.
We hope that this statement will be shared widely on both social and traditional media as our community’s
history of racism needs to be confronted and exposed. Without this confrontation and exposure, the work
that this community and city council have been doing to root out our racist past and embrace an anti-racist
culture will fall far short. Ms. Garett’s victimization is felt by every person of color in this valley. It must also be
felt by every one of us, regardless of the color of our skin, our gender, our sexual orientation, our ethnicity, our
religion and/or our age. We should all be reacting with outrage, sadness, and anger. This commission stands
behind Ms. Garrett and all people of color in strong and willful defiance against malevolent words of hate that
express the worst intentions that certain member(s) of our society foist upon others.
Too often, our community will voice anti-racism and equity support, but do little more than that. It's easy
enough to march in a parade, wear a t-shirt or applaud at a protest, but it takes courage and effort to take
action. We applaud those who are doing work and educating yourselves. We encourage you to learn about
American history, educate your children about systemic racism and bias, and advocate for greater diversity of
leadership in businesses and schools. Listen to Black women. Listen to people of color. Talk to your racist
friends and relatives. If they don't listen, then move on and talk to others.
This commission calls upon the Ashland community at large to continue promoting awareness of racism
through education and dialogue being mindful and conscious of how we impact others and ultimately
ourselves in the process. Racism is not a problem that impacts only people of color. It impacts all of us.
Making this community a welcoming place for everyone benefits everyone. It's good for our community, our
economy, and our schools.
Each of you represent and lead our community. We ask that as a city council you not only strongly and vocally
support OSF and its excellent artistic director by speaking out against the hateful comments. We are asking
that you take affirmative action against racism by allocating sufficient financial resources so that Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion can become a reality (and not just buzz words) within the City of Ashland.
Respectfully,
Emily Simon and Precious Yamaguchi,
Co-chairs Social Equity and Racial Justice Committee